Genetic Transsynaptic Techniques for Mapping Neural Circuits in Drosophila

A neural circuit is composed of a population of neurons that are interconnected by synapses and carry out a specific function when activated. It is the structural framework for all brain functions. Its impairments often cause diseases in the nervous system. To understand computations and functions in a brain circuit, it is of crucial importance to identify how neurons in this circuit are connected. Genetic transsynaptic techniques provide opportunities to efficiently answer this question. These techniques label synapses or across synapses to unbiasedly label synaptic partners. They allow for mapping neural circuits with high reproducibility and throughput, as well as provide genetic access to synaptically connected neurons that enables visualization and manipulation of these neurons simultaneously. This review focuses on three recently developed Drosophila genetic transsynaptic tools for detecting chemical synapses, highlights their advantages and potential pitfalls, and discusses the future development needs of these techniques.