RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 High-throughput mapping of single neuron projections by sequencing of barcoded RNA
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 054312
DO 10.1101/054312
A1 Justus M Kebschull
A1 Pedro Garcia da Silva
A1 Ashlan P Reid
A1 Ian D Peikon
A1 Dinu F Albeanu
A1 Anthony M Zador
YR 2016
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/05/20/054312.abstract
AB Neurons transmit information to distant brain regions via long-range axonal projections. In the mouse, area-to-area connections have only been systematically mapped using bulk labeling techniques, which obscure the diverse projections of intermingled single neurons. Here we describe MAPseq (Multiplexed Analysis of Projections by Sequencing), a technique that can map the projections of thousands or even millions of single neurons by labeling large sets of neurons with random RNA sequences (“barcodes”). Axons are filled with barcode mRNA, each putative projection area is dissected, and the barcode mRNA is extracted and sequenced. Applying MAPseq to the locus coeruleus (LC), we find that individual LC neurons have preferred cortical targets. By recasting neuroanatomy, which is traditionally viewed as a problem of microscopy, as a problem of sequencing, MAPseq harnesses advances in sequencing technology to permit high-throughput interrogation of brain circuits.