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PMID:17196531

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Citation

Smear, MC, Tao, HW, Staub, W, Orger, MB, Gosse, NJ, Liu, Y, Takahashi, K, Poo, MM and Baier, H (2007) Vesicular glutamate transport at a central synapse limits the acuity of visual perception in zebrafish. Neuron 53:65-77

Abstract

The neural circuitry that constrains visual acuity in the CNS has not been experimentally identified. We show here that zebrafish blumenkohl (blu) mutants are impaired in resolving rapid movements and fine spatial detail. The blu gene encodes a vesicular glutamate transporter expressed by retinal ganglion cells. Mutant retinotectal synapses release less glutamate, per vesicle and per terminal, and fatigue more quickly than wild-type in response to high-frequency stimulation. In addition, mutant axons arborize more extensively, thus increasing the number of synaptic terminals and effectively normalizing the combined input to postsynaptic cells in the tectum. This presumably homeostatic response results in larger receptive fields of tectal cells and a degradation of the retinotopic map. As predicted, mutants have a selective deficit in the capture of small prey objects, a behavior dependent on the tectum. Our studies successfully link the disruption of a synaptic protein to complex changes in neural circuitry and behavior.

Links

PubMed PMC1828615 Online version:10.1016/j.neuron.2006.12.013

Keywords

Animals; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/genetics; Glutamic Acid/metabolism; Mutation/genetics; Predatory Behavior/physiology; Presynaptic Terminals/metabolism; Presynaptic Terminals/ultrastructure; Retinal Ganglion Cells/metabolism; Retinal Ganglion Cells/ultrastructure; Superior Colliculi/abnormalities; Superior Colliculi/metabolism; Superior Colliculi/physiopathology; Synaptic Transmission/genetics; Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 2/genetics; Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 2/metabolism; Vision Disorders/genetics; Vision Disorders/metabolism; Vision Disorders/physiopathology; Vision, Ocular/genetics; Visual Pathways/abnormalities; Visual Pathways/metabolism; Visual Pathways/physiopathology; Zebrafish/anatomy & histology; Zebrafish/metabolism

Significance

Annotations

Gene product Qualifier GO ID GO term name Evidence Code with/from Aspect Notes Status


See also

References

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