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bioRxiv
BIORXIV
bioRxiv
2692-8205
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

10.1101/2024.09.05.611298
preprint
1
Article
A three-dimensional immunofluorescence atlas of the brain of the hackled-orb weaver spider, Uloborus diversus
Artiushin Gregory http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1615-3012

Corver Abel http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1431-9832

Gordus Andrew http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5550-0286

09 9 2024
2024.09.05.611298https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, which allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
http://biorxiv.org/lookup/doi/10.1101/2024.09.05.611298
nihpp-2024.09.05.611298.pdf
Abstract

Spider orb-web building is a captivating, rare example of animal construction, whose neural underpinnings remain undiscovered. An essential step in understanding the basis of this behavior is a foundational mapping of the spider’s neuroanatomy, which has thus far been primarily studied using non-web building species. We created a three-dimensional atlas for the hackled orb-weaver, Uloborus diversus , based on immunostaining for the presynaptic component, synapsin, in whole-mounted spider synganglia. Aligned to this volume, we examined the expression patterns of neuronal populations representing many of the classical neurotransmitter and neuromodulators, as well as a subset of neuropeptides – detailing immunoreactivity in an unbiased fashion throughout the synganglion, revealing co-expression in known structures, as well as novel neuropils not evident in prior spider works.

This optically-sliced, whole-mount atlas is the first of its kind for spiders, representing a substantive addition to knowledge of brain anatomy and neurotransmitter expression patterns for an orb-weaving species.
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