In vivo imaging of retinal bipolar cell dendritic dynamics within the zebrafish
Anna Matejczyk

To better comprehend how bipolar cells function and develop, we look at the dendritic arbors of bipolar cells and their interactions with cone photoreceptors in vivo using confocal microscopy. Using the nyctalopin promoter we are be able to label bipolar cells while simultaneously using an ultraviolet light photoreceptor promoter to label cone photoreceptors. This concurrent labeling allows us to look at these specific cells as they develop, while they form interactions and their responses to regeneration when one cell type is ablated. We hypothesize that bipolar cell dendrites make their connections with photoreceptors using an overgrowth and elimination model, where bipolar cells make and break contacts with photoreceptors until the correct contacts are established. Our observations present the first of in vivo visualization of bipolar dendritic development and behavior in a vertebrate retina.