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First published online 24 July 2008
doi: 10.1242/dev.024380

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Clonal analysis of Drosophila antennal lobe neurons: diverse neuronal architectures in the lateral neuroblast lineage

Sen-Lin Lai^1,*, Takeshi Awasaki^1,2, Kei Ito² and Tzumin Lee^1,

¹ Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
² Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan.

Author for correspondence (e-mail: tzumin.lee{at}umassmed.edu)

Accepted 1 July 2008

The antennal lobe (AL) is the primary structure in the Drosophila brain that relays odor information from the antennae to higher brain centers. The characterization of uniglomerular projection neurons (PNs) and some local interneurons has facilitated our understanding of olfaction; however, many other AL neurons remain unidentified. Because neuron types are mostly specified by lineage and temporal origins, we use the MARCM techniques with a set of enhancer-trap GAL4 lines to perform systematical lineage analysis to characterize neuron morphologies, lineage origin and birth timing in the three AL neuron lineages that contain GAL4-GH146-positive PNs: anterodorsal, lateral and ventral lineages. The results show that the anterodorsal lineage is composed of pure uniglomerular PNs that project through the inner antennocerebral tract. The ventral lineage produces uniglomerular and multiglomerular PNs that project through the middle antennocerebral tract. The lateral lineage generates multiple types of neurons, including uniglomeurlar PNs, diverse atypical PNs, various types of AL local interneurons and the neurons that make no connection within the ALs. Specific neuron types in all three lineages are produced in specific time windows, although multiple neuron types in the lateral lineage are made simultaneously. These systematic cell lineage analyses have not only filled gaps in the olfactory map, but have also exemplified additional strategies used in the brain to increase neuronal diversity.

Key words: Antennal lobe, Lineage, MARCM, Olfaction, Temporal identity

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