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Axon guidance

A Roundabout way of avoiding the midline

Nature volume 391, pages 442–443 (1998)Cite this article

Bilaterally symmetrical animals must be able to integrate sensory inputs and coordinate motor control on both sides of the body. Thus, many neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) project their axons to the opposite side of the body, whereas others project axons that remain on the same side. In the latest issues of Cell1,2 and Neuron3, the groups of Corey Goodman, Guy Tear, Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Cori Bargmann report that, from worms and flies to rats and humans, a common mechanism determines which axons cross the midline and which do not.

In insects and vertebrates, the two symmetrical halves of the CNS are separated by a specialized group of cells. Located at the ventral midline of the CNS, these are called midline cells in insects, and they form the floor plate in vertebrates. Most CNS axons initially grow towards these midline cells and then turn longitudinally — either on their own side (ipsilateral), or by first crossing the midline and then turning (contralateral). As they project longitudinally, these axons skirt along the edge of the midline, but never cross it again. Those axons that cross the midline form the commissures that allow sensory information and motor instructions to pass from one side of the animal to the other.

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Figure 1: Model for regulation of midline crossing by axons in the central nervous system of Drosophila embryos.

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  1. the Zoologisches Institut der Universität Z¨rich, Winterthurerstrasse, CH-8057 190, Z¨rich, Switzerland

    Barry Dickson

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  1. Barry Dickson
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Dickson, B. A Roundabout way of avoiding the midline. Nature 391, 442–443 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/35039

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