Mushroom Body Lobes

Click on inline image to retrieve larger annotated version.

This set of three images illustrates covert subdivisions of the mushroom body medial lobe into parallel components. These are the beta (b and b') and gamma (g) lobes, the latter itself subdivided into glomerular-like protrusions. The beta-lobe lies posterior to the gamma-lobe.

A. Frontal section stained with Bodian reduced-silver to show the just visible division of gamma and beta.

B. Thick section illustrating a mushroom body stained with an antibody raised against beta-galactosidase in a transformant Drosophila line (747Y: Yang et al. (1995) Neuron 15Y: 45-54). The densely staining beta-lobes of the mushroom bodies are well delineated from the paler gamma-lobe and spur. Dense staining is also observed in the alpha-lobe, but staining only of one of the two lobes of its head (alpha head in Fig. A).

C. Thin (12 mm) section showing fluorescent staining of lac-Z expression in another enhancer trap line (201Y, Yang et al., 1995). Here the gamma-lobe is shown with swollen medial protrusions, reflecting the whorled axons of clawed Kenyon cells. Protrusions at the tip of the medial lobe are invaded by output (efferent) neurons.

Staining and imaging by I. Vilinsky. Lines provided by J. D. Armstrong, University of Glasgow.

Flybrain    Atlas    Major Brain Centers    Mushroom Bodies    Medial Lobe

All contents are copyright © 1995-2000 Flybrain or their original publication (as noted).
Copyright and use policy

AC00130