Long-Range Optogenetic Control of Axon Guidance Overcomes Developmental Boundaries and Defects.

ABSTRACT: Axons connect neurons together, establishing the wiring architecture of neuronal networks. Axonal connectivity is largely built during embryonic development through highly constrained processes of axon guidance, which have been extensively studied. However, the inability to control axon guidance, and thus neuronal network architecture, has limited investigation of how axonal connections influence subsequent development and function of neuronal networks. Here, we use zebrafish motor neurons expressing a photoactivatable Rac1 to co-opt endogenous growth cone guidance machinery to precisely and non-invasively direct axon growth using light. Axons can be guided over large distances, within complex environments of living organisms, overriding competing endogenous signals and redirecting axons a

SUBMITTER: Harris JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7375170 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature