Microengineered devices enable long-term imaging of the ventral nerve cord in behaving adult Drosophila

Laura Hermans, Murat Kaynak, Jonas Braun, Victor Lobato Ríos, Chin-Lin Chen, Adam Friedberg, Semih Günel, Florian Aymanns, Mahmut Selman Sakar () and Pavan Ramdya ()
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Laura Hermans: Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL
Murat Kaynak: Institute of Mechanical Engineering & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL
Jonas Braun: Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL
Victor Lobato Ríos: Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL
Chin-Lin Chen: Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL
Adam Friedberg: Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL
Semih Günel: Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL
Florian Aymanns: Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL
Mahmut Selman Sakar: Institute of Mechanical Engineering & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL
Pavan Ramdya: Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract The dynamics and connectivity of neural circuits continuously change on timescales ranging from milliseconds to an animal’s lifetime. Therefore, to understand biological networks, minimally invasive methods are required to repeatedly record them in behaving animals. Here we describe a suite of devices that enable long-term optical recordings of the adult Drosophila melanogaster ventral nerve cord (VNC). These consist of transparent, numbered windows to replace thoracic exoskeleton, compliant implants to displace internal organs, a precision arm to assist implantation, and a hinged stage to repeatedly tether flies. To validate and illustrate our toolkit we (i) show minimal impact on animal behavior and survival, (ii) follow the degradation of chordotonal organ mechanosensory nerve terminals over weeks after leg amputation, and (iii) uncover waves of neural activity caffeine ingestion. Thus, our long-term imaging toolkit opens up the investigation of premotor and motor circuit adaptations in response to injury, drug ingestion, aging, learning, and disease.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32571-y

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