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Dimorphism Explorer

By comparing the male CNS to the previously published female "FlyWire" connectome1, we identified a number of sexually dimorphic neurons (see the accompanying publication for details). Below you can browse the list of dimorphic and sex-specific cell types grouped by either their cell types, their light-level clone, their hemi-lineage, or their synonym.

Finding a specific cell type, synonym, etc.

You can search for a specific cell type, synonym, etc. using the search box at the top right of the page (click the magnifying glass icon if the box is not visible).

Here we present the list of dimorphic neurons grouped by their terminal cell type.

Prior literature describes many dimorphic cell types. Where possible we have tried to match these, often light-level based, types to neurons in the EM.

This section represents dimorphism in the context of the brain regions they are located in. Types are listed under a given brain region if they have more than 10% of their in- or outputs (by number of synapses) in that region. Only regions with at least one dimorphic type are shown.

AL
AMMC
AOTU
AVLP
CAN
CRE
EPA
FLA
GNG
GOR
IB
ICL
IPS
LAL
LH
MB_ML
MB_PED
PLP
PRW
PVLP
SAD
SCL
SIP
SLP
SMP
SPS
VES
WED
ANm
HTct(UTct-T3)
IntTct
LTct
LegNp(T1)
LegNp(T2)
LegNp(T3)
Ov
WTct(UTct-T2)
LO
ME

Supertypes are groups of neurons that share morphological features. They typically combine of 3-4 terminal cell types but can be larger - e.g. when they contain types with morphologies that only gradually differ from each other. Only supertypes with at least one dimorphic or sex-specific type are shown.

This section groups dimorphic terminal cell types by the developmental hemilineage they originate from. The expression of the fruitless (fru+) and doublesex (dsx+) genes was established by comparing neuron morphologies to light-level clones. Please note that not necessarily all neurons in a hemilineage are fruitless- or doublesex-positive. Only hemilineages with at least one dimorphic type are shown.

ALv1 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
102 | 105

Counts in Female (left|right):
100 | 99

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

AOTUv1_medial (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
29 | 29

Counts in Female (left|right):
31 | 30

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

AOTUv3_dorsal (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
106 | 106

Counts in Female (left|right):
103 | 103

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Dimorphic Cell Types

CREa1_ventral (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
80 | 81

Counts in Female (left|right):
48 | 49

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Dimorphic Cell Types

CREl1 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
72 | 73

Counts in Female (left|right):
67 | 67

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DL1_dorsal (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
172 | 172

Counts in Female (left|right):
177 | 178

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DL1_ventral (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
191 | 188

Counts in Female (left|right):
144 | 142

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DL1_ventral; DL2_ventral (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
0 | 0

Counts in Female (left|right):
0 | 0

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DL2_dorsal (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
52 | 53

Counts in Female (left|right):
56 | 55

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DL2_ventral (fru+/dsx+)

Counts in Male (left|right):
21 | 21

Counts in Female (left|right):
24 | 23

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DM1_antero_dorsal (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
65 | 64

Counts in Female (left|right):
57 | 55

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DM2_central (fru+/dsx+)

Counts in Male (left|right):
60 | 60

Counts in Female (left|right):
59 | 60

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DM3_dorso_lateral (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
60 | 61

Counts in Female (left|right):
63 | 63

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DM3_dorso_medial (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
26 | 28

Counts in Female (left|right):
29 | 30

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

DM4_dorsal (fru+/dsx+)

Counts in Male (left|right):
174 | 175

Counts in Female (left|right):
102 | 100

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

DM6_central1 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
75 | 76

Counts in Female (left|right):
72 | 72

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DM6_central1__prim (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
1 | 1

Counts in Female (left|right):
1 | 1

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DM6_central2 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
14 | 14

Counts in Female (left|right):
14 | 14

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Dimorphic Cell Types

DM6_dorso_lateral (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
86 | 86

Counts in Female (left|right):
87 | 87

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

FLAa1 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
10 | 10

Counts in Female (left|right):
14 | 16

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

FLAa3 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
64 | 65

Counts in Female (left|right):
53 | 53

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

LALa1_anterior (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
93 | 93

Counts in Female (left|right):
93 | 89

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

LB0 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
0 | 0

Counts in Female (left|right):
0 | 0

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

LB12 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
62 | 61

Counts in Female (left|right):
50 | 50

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

LB3 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
196 | 196

Counts in Female (left|right):
175 | 176

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

LB6 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
58 | 56

Counts in Female (left|right):
54 | 54

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

LB7 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
83 | 83

Counts in Female (left|right):
81 | 80

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

LHl1 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
96 | 101

Counts in Female (left|right):
87 | 87

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

LHl2_dorsal (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
77 | 76

Counts in Female (left|right):
73 | 76

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

LHl2_dorsal__prim (fru+/dsx+)

Counts in Male (left|right):
2 | 2

Counts in Female (left|right):
0 | 0

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

MD3 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
136 | 135

Counts in Female (left|right):
129 | 129

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

MX12 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
50 | 46

Counts in Female (left|right):
46 | 44

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

MX12__prim (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
23 | 24

Counts in Female (left|right):
25 | 25

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

MX3 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
127 | 124

Counts in Female (left|right):
125 | 124

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

N/A (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
0 | 0

Counts in Female (left|right):
0 | 0

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

PSa1 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
76 | 76

Counts in Female (left|right):
71 | 72

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

PSp2 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
76 | 75

Counts in Female (left|right):
75 | 73

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

PSp3 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
96 | 98

Counts in Female (left|right):
96 | 96

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

SLPad1_anterior (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
96 | 101

Counts in Female (left|right):
79 | 85

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

SLPal2 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
99 | 95

Counts in Female (left|right):
92 | 90

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Dimorphic Cell Types

SLPav1_medial (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
87 | 87

Counts in Female (left|right):
85 | 84

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

SLPpm3 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
59 | 57

Counts in Female (left|right):
55 | 54

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

SMPad1 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
140 | 139

Counts in Female (left|right):
80 | 80

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

SMPad2 (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
160 | 157

Counts in Female (left|right):
143 | 143

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

SMPad3 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
72 | 71

Counts in Female (left|right):
68 | 69

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

SMPad3__prim (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
1 | 1

Counts in Female (left|right):
0 | 0

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

SMPpm1 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
51 | 51

Counts in Female (left|right):
60 | 69

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

SMPpv1 (fru+/dsx+)

Counts in Male (left|right):
68 | 67

Counts in Female (left|right):
65 | 67

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

SMPpv2_dorsal (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
56 | 55

Counts in Female (left|right):
55 | 56

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

SMPpv2_ventral (fru+/dsx+)

Counts in Male (left|right):
72 | 74

Counts in Female (left|right):
31 | 30

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VLPa1_lateral (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
85 | 86

Counts in Female (left|right):
88 | 90

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VLPa1_medial (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
46 | 46

Counts in Female (left|right):
42 | 45

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Dimorphic Cell Types

VLPd&p1_posterior (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
106 | 104

Counts in Female (left|right):
107 | 107

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VLPl&d1_dorsal (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
105 | 103

Counts in Female (left|right):
100 | 102

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VLPl&d1_lateral (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
108 | 105

Counts in Female (left|right):
104 | 105

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VLPl&p1_lateral (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
71 | 69

Counts in Female (left|right):
69 | 74

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VLPl&p1_posterior (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
118 | 112

Counts in Female (left|right):
113 | 110

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VLPl&p2_lateral (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
179 | 177

Counts in Female (left|right):
184 | 179

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VLPl2_medial (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
155 | 155

Counts in Female (left|right):
158 | 158

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VLPl2_posterior (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
100 | 99

Counts in Female (left|right):
100 | 102

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VLPl4_dorsal (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
57 | 58

Counts in Female (left|right):
53 | 53

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VPNp&v1_ventral (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
60 | 61

Counts in Female (left|right):
64 | 62

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VPNp1_lateral (fru+/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
72 | 77

Counts in Female (left|right):
69 | 69

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

VPNp1_medial (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
50 | 49

Counts in Female (left|right):
51 | 49

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

WEDa1 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
86 | 89

Counts in Female (left|right):
83 | 84

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types

WEDd1 (fru-/dsx-)

Counts in Male (left|right):
100 | 99

Counts in Female (left|right):
98 | 98

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Dimorphic Cell Types

putative_primary (fru+/dsx+)

Counts in Male (left|right):
1938 | 1944

Counts in Female (left|right):
1933 | 1938

Show hemilineage in Neuroglancer

Dimorphic Cell Types


  1. Dorkenwald et al., Nature (2024); Schlegel et al., Nature (2024)