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First published online 29 September 2004
doi: 10.1242/dev.01406

Development 131, 5287-5295 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
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The receptor tyrosine kinase Off-track is required for layer-specific neuronal connectivity in Drosophila

Patrick Cafferty, Li Yu and Yong Rao*

McGill Centre for Research in Neuroscience, and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University Health Centre, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1A4, Canada

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: yong.rao{at}mcgill.ca)

Accepted 17 August 2004

The nervous system in many species consists of multiple neuronal cell layers, each forming specific connections with neurons in other layers or other regions of the brain. How layer-specific connectivity is established during development remains largely unknown. In the Drosophila adult visual system, photoreceptor (R cell) axons innervate one of two optic ganglia layers; R1-R6 axons connect to the lamina layer, while R7 and R8 axons project through the lamina into the deeper medulla layer. Here, we show that the receptor tyrosine kinase Off-track (Otk) is specifically required for lamina-specific targeting of R1-R6 axons. Otk is highly expressed on R1-R6 growth cones. In the absence of otk, many R1-R6 axons connect abnormally to medulla instead of innervating lamina. We propose that Otk is a receptor or a component of a receptor complex that recognizes a target-derived signal for R1-R6 axons to innervate the lamina layer.

Key words: Off-track, Neuronal target selection, Layer-specific connectivity, Drosophila visual system




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