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To complement and extend our studies on the leg's PD axis, we have initiated a long-term project to understand both the development and circuitry of the motor neurons that innervate the leg's muscles. Broadly speaking, we would like to understand 1) how the PD trajectories and targeting of these motor neurons are determined and 2) how the resulting neuronal circuits allow the fly to walk in a coordinated manner. Novel genetic and imaging tools are being developed to tackle these questions. See: Baek M, Mann RS. J Neurosci. 2009 May 27;29(21):6904-16.
The figure above shows the birth times (= heat shock time after egg laying (AEL)) for the motor neurons derived from Lin A, the lineage that gives rise to the largest number of leg motor neurons. Note that this lineage only gives rise to motor neurons that target the femur (Fe) and tibia (Ti), and that Ti and Fe targeting neurons are born throughout this temporal window.
Above: Three examples of dendritic arbors in the CNS of motor neurons that target the femur (left), the trochanter (middle), and the coxa (right). Note the stereotypical display of dendrites for each type of motor neuron. See Baek and Mann 2009 for details. Back to Projects page | ||
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