CAREER: Neural cell type and circuit evolution in the insect visual system

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

The complexity of the brain resides on the number and types of neurons, and ways they connect with each other and with other tissues. Understanding how diverse brain complexity across different species relates to animal behavior is a fundamental goal in neuroscience. This project will use a comparative approach to explore neural differences across insect species. The team will take advantage of the relatively simple insect visual system as a model for understanding neural cell type evolution and the genetic and neural basis of behavior by investigating the shape and connectivity of a subset of neurons in mosquitos, house flies and butterflies during their development. Charismatic study species such as butterflies will be used to engage high school students from underserved communities in hands-on research experiences, and a module on genome editing will be developed in collaboration with local high school teachers. This project is designed to expand our understanding of the developmental and evolutionary basis of complex behaviors. This project will utilize the insect visual system as a model to understand how the genetic and neural basis of behavior evolves across species. The visual systems of different insects have been modified and rearranged in sometimes dramatic ways in the service of varying functional requirements, allowing insect species to thrive in an incredibly diverse range of environments. By using a combination of state-of-the-art genomic and genetic approaches in three non-model species, the team will determine how differences in cell type composition, neural specification, and neural circuitry affect specific behaviors. The project will focus on a) the evolution of novel neural types in the housefly (Musca domestica) in the service of target detection and tracking; b) the rearrangement of the retina and downstream neural circuits in Aedes mosquitos, which redistribute circuits used for host and water detection; and c) to understand the circuits that allow for improved color vision in butterflies. This study will use an integrative approach to characterize visual neuropils using single cell transcriptomics, to identify and use cell type-specific enhancers to evaluate changes in neural circuitry, and to functionally test the role of specific changes in neural composition and wiring in behavior. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.