Genetically timed, activity-sensor and rainbow transsynaptic viral tools.
Boldogkoi Z., Balint K., Awatramani GB., Balya D., Busskamp V., Viney TJ., Lagali PS., Duebel J., Pásti E., Tombácz D., Tóth JS., Takács IF., Scherf BG., Roska B.
We developed retrograde, transsynaptic pseudorabies viruses (PRVs) with genetically encoded activity sensors that optically report the activity of connected neurons among spatially intermingled neurons in the brain. Next we engineered PRVs to express two differentially colored fluorescent proteins in a time-shifted manner to define a time period early after infection to investigate neural activity. Finally we used multiple-colored PRVs to differentiate and dissect the complex architecture of brain regions.