Dataset Information

Extensive and diverse patterns of cell death sculpt neural networks in insects.

ABSTRACT: Changes to the structure and function of neural networks are thought to underlie the evolutionary adaptation of animal behaviours. Among the many developmental phenomena that generate change programmed cell death (PCD) appears to play a key role. We show that cell death occurs continuously throughout insect neurogenesis and happens soon after neurons are born. Mimicking an evolutionary role for increasing cell numbers, we artificially block in the medial neuroblast lineage in Drosophila melanogaster, which results in the production of 'undead' neurons with complex arborisations and distinct neurotransmitter identities. Activation of these 'undead' neurons and recordings of neural activity in behaving animals demonstrate that they are functional. Focusing on two dipterans, which have lost flight during evolution, we reveal that reductions in populations of flight interneurons are likely caused by increased cell death during development. Our findings suggest that the evolutionary modulation of death-based patterning could generate novel network configurations.

SUBMITTER: Pop S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7535934 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Extensive and diverse patterns of cell death sculpt neural networks in insects.

Pop Sinziana S Chen Chin-Lin CL Sproston Connor J CJ Kondo Shu S Ramdya Pavan P Williams Darren W DW

eLife 20200907

Changes to the structure and function of neural networks are thought to underlie the evolutionary adaptation of animal behaviours. Among the many developmental phenomena that generate change programmed cell death (PCD) appears to play a key role. We show that cell death occurs continuously throughout insect neurogenesis and happens soon after neurons are born. Mimicking an evolutionary role for increasing cell numbers, we artificially block in the medial neuroblast lineage in <i>Drosophila melan ...[more]

PMID: 32894223

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Project description:Geographical variations in environmental factors can affect species diversity and consequently influence the structure of interspecific ecological interactions. Relationships between flowering plants and animal flower visitors are among the most important ecological interactions and can structure and maintain ecological diversity in different environments. Additionally, many animal and plant species participate in these interactions, which shape the specific characteristics of these communities, in terms of both the responses of the interacting species involved and environmental differences. Therefore, in the present study we investigated geographical and environmental effects on the architecture of Neotropical flower-visitor networks of vertebrates and invertebrates. To this end, we used data regarding interaction networks available in the literature and constructed binary interaction networks of plants and plant-visitors (hummingbirds and insects) and tested the effects of altitude, latitude, vegetation type and number of plant families on the structure of these networks. In total, we analyzed 55 networks of flower-visitor interactions with 746 species of flower-visiting animals and 1,185 species of plants, totaling 5,463 distinct plant-animal interactions. In general, the architecture of flower-visitor networks varied along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients, with more pronounced effects for flower-insect networks in which latitude influenced network size, modularity, and nestedness, and altitude influenced network size and connectance. Flower-hummingbird networks in open vegetation (grassland) were more modular than networks in other environments. The number of plant families positively influenced the size of insect and hummingbird networks, and positively affected connectance and nestedness and negatively affected modularity in the flower-insect networks. So, the patterns we found indicate that plant-visitor interactions in flower-insect and flower-hummingbird networks are differently affected by geographical and plant-related factors, possibly due to the differences in taxonomic and functional groups involved in these interactions.

Dataset Information

Extensive and diverse patterns of cell death sculpt neural networks in insects.

Publications

Extensive and diverse patterns of cell death sculpt neural networks in insects.

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