Trevor J. Wardill

TL;DR: A family of ultrasensitive protein calcium sensors (GCaMP6) that outperformed other sensors in cultured neurons and in zebrafish, flies and mice in vivo are developed and provide new windows into the organization and dynamics of neural circuits over multiple spatial and temporal scales.

TL;DR: GCaMP5 fluorescence provides a more reliable measure of neuronal activity than its predecessor GCaMP3, which allows more sensitive detection of neural activity in vivo and may find widespread applications for cellular imaging in general.

TL;DR: Red, single-wavelength GECIs, “RCaMPs,” engineered from circular permutation of the thermostable red fluorescent protein mRuby are described and 2-color calcium imaging is demonstrated both within the same cell (registering mitochondrial and somatic [Ca2+]) and between two populations of cells: neurons and astrocytes.

TL;DR: It is found that R7/R8 information converge with and shape the motion pathway output, explaining flies’ broadly tuned optomotor behavior by its composite responses, and demonstrates that inputs from photoreceptors of different spectral sensitivities improve motion discrimination, increasing robustness of perception.

TL;DR: It is found that although these species have similar lenses and optical properties, Coenosia photoreceptors have three- to fourfold higher spatial resolution and rate of information transfer than Drosophila, demonstrating how the flexible architecture of miniature compound eyes can evolve to match information processing with ecological demands.