Network statistics of the whole-brain connectome of Drosophila

Network statistics of the whole-brain connectome of Drosophila

3 October 2024 | Albert Lin, Runzhe Yang, Sven Dorkenwald, Arie Matsliah, Amy R. Sterling, Philipp Schlegel, Szi-chieh Yu, Claire E. McKellar, Marta Costa, Katharina Eichler, Alexander Shakeel Bates, Nils Eckstein, Jan Funke, Gregory S. X. E. Jefferis & Mala Murthy
The study presents the first whole-brain connectome of an adult female Drosophila melanogaster, containing over 130,000 neurons and millions of synaptic connections. The connectome was analyzed to understand its network properties, including the prevalence of two- and three-node motifs, neurotransmitter composition, and cell type annotations. The fly brain exhibits a rich-club organization, with 30% of neurons forming highly connected nodes. These rich-club neurons may serve as integrators or broadcasters of signals. Subnetworks based on 78 anatomically defined brain regions were examined, and the data are shared in the FlyWire Codex. Network theory was applied to analyze the brain's organization, revealing robust connectivity and identifying highly connected nodes. Mesoscale connectomes of humans and other mammals were analyzed using MRI and MEG data, while the fly brain's connectome was examined at the microscale using electron microscopy. The fly brain's network is sparse compared to other organisms, but it remains highly connected with short path lengths, indicating efficient information flow. The fly brain's network exhibits rich-club organization, with a cut-off of total degree = 37. This regime contains 30% of neurons and is characterized by higher connection probabilities. The fly brain also shows high connection reciprocity and clustering coefficients, indicating non-random connectivity. Reciprocal connections are over-represented, with the most common being ach–GABA and ach–glutamate. These reciprocal motifs are excitatory–inhibitory and are over-represented compared to neurotransmitter frequencies. The fly brain's network has a high clustering coefficient, indicating an over-representation of triplet structures. Three-node motifs are under-represented in some regions but over-represented in others. The MB and ME have high reciprocity probabilities, while the AL has lower reciprocity. The rich-club neurons are more likely to be GABAergic and less likely to be cholinergic. These neurons are also more likely to have inputs or outputs spanning both hemispheres. The fly brain's network is robust, with a high degree of connectivity and short path lengths. The rich-club neurons contribute to these short path lengths, suggesting their importance in information flow. The study highlights the importance of network analysis in understanding brain organization and function. The data are shared in the FlyWire Codex for further research.The study presents the first whole-brain connectome of an adult female Drosophila melanogaster, containing over 130,000 neurons and millions of synaptic connections. The connectome was analyzed to understand its network properties, including the prevalence of two- and three-node motifs, neurotransmitter composition, and cell type annotations. The fly brain exhibits a rich-club organization, with 30% of neurons forming highly connected nodes. These rich-club neurons may serve as integrators or broadcasters of signals. Subnetworks based on 78 anatomically defined brain regions were examined, and the data are shared in the FlyWire Codex. Network theory was applied to analyze the brain's organization, revealing robust connectivity and identifying highly connected nodes. Mesoscale connectomes of humans and other mammals were analyzed using MRI and MEG data, while the fly brain's connectome was examined at the microscale using electron microscopy. The fly brain's network is sparse compared to other organisms, but it remains highly connected with short path lengths, indicating efficient information flow. The fly brain's network exhibits rich-club organization, with a cut-off of total degree = 37. This regime contains 30% of neurons and is characterized by higher connection probabilities. The fly brain also shows high connection reciprocity and clustering coefficients, indicating non-random connectivity. Reciprocal connections are over-represented, with the most common being ach–GABA and ach–glutamate. These reciprocal motifs are excitatory–inhibitory and are over-represented compared to neurotransmitter frequencies. The fly brain's network has a high clustering coefficient, indicating an over-representation of triplet structures. Three-node motifs are under-represented in some regions but over-represented in others. The MB and ME have high reciprocity probabilities, while the AL has lower reciprocity. The rich-club neurons are more likely to be GABAergic and less likely to be cholinergic. These neurons are also more likely to have inputs or outputs spanning both hemispheres. The fly brain's network is robust, with a high degree of connectivity and short path lengths. The rich-club neurons contribute to these short path lengths, suggesting their importance in information flow. The study highlights the importance of network analysis in understanding brain organization and function. The data are shared in the FlyWire Codex for further research.
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Understanding Network statistics of the whole-brain connectome of Drosophila