
==== Front
bioRxiv
BIORXIV
bioRxiv
2692-8205
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

10.1101/2024.08.27.609939
preprint
1
Article
Dimensionality reduction simplifies synaptic partner matching in an olfactory circuit
Lyu Cheng http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2921-3061

Li Zhuoran
Xu Chuanyun
Lam Wong Kenneth Kin
Luginbuhl David J.
McLaughlin Colleen N.
Xie Qijing
Li Tongchao
Li Hongjie
Luo Liqun
27 8 2024
2024.08.27.609939https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
http://biorxiv.org/lookup/doi/10.1101/2024.08.27.609939
nihpp-2024.08.27.609939.pdf
Abstract

The distribution of postsynaptic partners in three-dimensional (3D) space presents complex choices for a navigating axon. Here, we discovered a dimensionality reduction principle in establishing the 3D glomerular map in the fly antennal lobe. Olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) axons first contact partner projection neuron (PN) dendrites at the 2D spherical surface of the antennal lobe during development, regardless of whether the adult glomeruli are at the surface or interior of the antennal lobe. Along the antennal lobe surface, axons of each ORN type take a specific 1D arc-shaped trajectory that precisely intersects with their partner PN dendrites. Altering axon trajectories compromises synaptic partner matching. Thus, a 3D search problem is reduced to 1D, which simplifies synaptic partner matching and may generalize to the wiring process of more complex brains.
==== Body
pmc
