Dataset · 2021
Phelps, Hildebrand & Graham — Drosophila ventral nerve cord
Motor control circuits in the adult fly ventral nerve cord, and the dataset that introduced GridTape automated section collection.
| Species | Drosophila melanogaster (female) |
|---|---|
| Region | Ventral nerve cord |
| Cells | 507 limb motor neurons reconstructed |
| Modality | GridTape automated TEM |
| Access | Open |
| Status | Released |
GridTape automates the most failure-prone step in serial-section EM: collecting sections onto a substrate without losing or folding them. This dataset used it to image the adult female Drosophila ventral nerve cord and reconstruct 507 limb motor neurons.
What it is good for. The methods half of Unit 03: it is the clearest illustration of why section collection, not imaging, is the throughput bottleneck.
What it does not support. Whole-VNC connectivity — this reconstruction targets motor neurons rather than the full circuit.
Where these numbers come from. Phelps, Hildebrand, Graham et al. (2021), Cell 10.1016/j.cell.2020.12.013; BossDB. DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2020.12.013.