Sakar, M. S. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2022

Deconstructing body axis morphogenesis in zebrafish embryos using robot-assisted tissue micromanipulation

Microsurgical techniques, such as those used in the early 1900s by Mangold and Spemann, were not only foundational for experimental embryology, but are still in use today. Here, we build on these classic techniques by introducing a user-friendly robotic microsurgery platform that allows precise mechanical manipulation of soft tissues in zebrafish embryos. As a proof of principle, we investigated the contribution of different embryonic tissues to vertebrate anteroposterior (AP) axis elongation and segmentation. Using our platform, we reproducibly targeted precise regions of tail explants, and quantified the response in real-time by following notochord and presomitic mesoderm (PSM) morphogenesis and segmentation clock dynamics. We find an extension force generated through the posterior notochord, independent of notochord cell vacuolation, that is strong enough to buckle the structure. Our data suggest that this force generates a unidirectional notochord extension towards the tailbud because PSM tissue around the posterior notochord does not let it slide anteriorly. These results complement existing biomechanical models of axis elongation, revealing a critical coupling between the posterior notochord, the tailbud, and the PSM, and show that somite patterning is robust against structural perturbations.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2021

Long-term imaging of the ventral nerve cord in behaving adult Drosophila

The dynamics and connectivity of neural circuits continuously change during an animals lifetime on timescales ranging from milliseconds to days. Therefore, to investigate how biological networks accomplish remarkable cognitive and behavioral tasks, minimally invasive methods are needed to perform repeated measurements, or perturbations of neural circuits in behaving animals across time. Such tools have been developed to investigate the brain but similar approaches are lacking for comprehensively and repeatedly recording motor circuits in behaving animals. Here we describe a suite of microfabricated technologies that enable long-term, minimally invasive optical recordings of the adult Drosophila melanogaster ventral nerve cord (VNC)--neural tissues that are functionally equivalent to the vertebrate spinal cord. These tools consist of (i) a manipulator arm that permits the insertion of (ii) a compliant implant into the thorax to expose the imaging region of interest; (iii) a numbered, transparent polymer window that encloses and provides optical access to the inside of the thorax, and (iv) a hinged remounting stage that allows gentle and repeated tethering of an implanted animal for two-photon imaging. We validate and illustrate the utility of our toolkit in several ways. First, we show that the thoracic implant and window have minimal impact on animal behavior and survival while also enabling neural recordings from individual animals across at least one month. Second, we follow the degradation of chordotonal organ mechanosensory nerve terminals in the VNC over weeks after leg amputation. Third, because our tools allow recordings of the VNC with the gut intact, we discover waves of neural population activity following ingestion of a high-concentration caffeine solution. In summary, our microfabricated toolkit makes it possible to longitudinally monitor anatomical and functional changes in premotor and motor neural circuits, and more generally opens up the long-term investigation of thoracic tissues.

neuroscience↗