Teneurins instruct synaptic partner matching in an olfactory map

Weizhe Hong, Timothy J. Mosca and Liqun Luo ()
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Weizhe Hong: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University
Timothy J. Mosca: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University
Liqun Luo: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University

Nature, 2012, vol. 484, issue 7393, 201-207

Abstract: Abstract Neurons are interconnected with extraordinary precision to assemble a functional nervous system. Compared to axon guidance, far less is understood about how individual pre- and postsynaptic partners are matched. To ensure the proper relay of olfactory information in the fruitfly Drosophila, axons of ∼50 classes of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) form one-to-one connections with dendrites of ∼50 classes of projection neurons (PNs). Here, using genetic screens, we identified two evolutionarily conserved, epidermal growth factor (EGF)-repeat containing transmembrane Teneurin proteins, Ten-m and Ten-a, as synaptic-partner-matching molecules between PN dendrites and ORN axons. Ten-m and Ten-a are highly expressed in select PN–ORN matching pairs. Teneurin loss- and gain-of-function cause specific mismatching of select ORNs and PNs. Finally, Teneurins promote homophilic interactions in vitro, and Ten-m co-expression in non-partner PNs and ORNs promotes their ectopic connections in vivo. We propose that Teneurins instruct matching specificity between synaptic partners through homophilic attraction.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10926

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