Polyadic synapses introduce unique wiring architectures in T5 cells of Drosophila

Abstract

Connectomes provide neuronal wiring diagrams and allow for investigating the detailed synaptic morphology of each connection. In the visual system of Drosophila, T5 cells are the primary motion-sensing neurons in the OFF-pathway. On their dendrites, they receive input from the excitatory Tm1, Tm2, Tm4, Tm9 and the inhibitory CT1 neurons in a spatial arrangement which depends on their preferred direction. This connectivity, however, has not yet been investigated with respect to specific types of polyadic synapses which are known to be abundant in the fly nervous system. In this study, we use the FlyWire database and identify that Tm and CT1 cells wire on T5a dendrites via eight polyadic synapse types. We then explore the distribution of the different synapse types on T5a dendrites and find differences in their spatial patterns. Finally, we show that the polyadic morphology is setting a directional wiring architecture at the T5 network level. Our work showcases the complexity that polyadic synapses introduce in T5 connectivity.