Gene expression of Caenorhabditis elegans neurons carries information on their synaptic connectivity.

Autor: Alon Kaufman, Gideon Dror, Isaac Meilijson, Eytan Ruppin
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2006
Předmět:
Zdroj: PLoS Computational Biology, Vol 2, Iss 12, p e167 (2006)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1553-734X
1553-7358
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.0020167
Popis: The claim that genetic properties of neurons significantly influence their synaptic network structure is a common notion in neuroscience. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans provides an exciting opportunity to approach this question in a large-scale quantitative manner. Its synaptic connectivity network has been identified, and, combined with cellular studies, we currently have characteristic connectivity and gene expression signatures for most of its neurons. By using two complementary analysis assays we show that the expression signature of a neuron carries significant information about its synaptic connectivity signature, and identify a list of putative genes predicting neural connectivity. The current study rigorously quantifies the relation between gene expression and synaptic connectivity signatures in the C. elegans nervous system and identifies subsets of neurons where this relation is highly marked. The results presented and the genes identified provide a promising starting point for further, more detailed computational and experimental investigations.
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