Serial Synapse Formation through Filopodial Competition for Synaptic Seeding Factors

Abstract

How random axon filopodia dynamics lead to precise numbers of synaptic contacts during development is unknown. Özel et al. show, through live imaging and computational modeling, that a “winner-takes-all” distribution of synaptic seeding factors renders one filopodium at a time synaptogenic, thereby pacing development and ensuring robust connectivity.