Welcome to Virtual Fly Brain

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A hub for Drosophila melanogaster neural anatomy, imaging data & connectomics.

Welcome to Virtual Fly Brain (VFB) - an interactive tool for neurobiologists to explore the detailed neuroanatomy, neuron connectivity and gene expression of Drosophila melanogaster. Our goal is to make it easier for researchers to find relevant anatomical information and reagents.

We integrate the neuroanatomical and expression data from the published literature, as well as image datasets onto the same brain template, making it possible to run cross searches, find similar neurons and compare image data on our 3D Viewer.

Explore Connectomes!

New Circuit Browser Tool has been made available for user testing.

We always welcome user feedback

Contributions welcome!

We do a Pull Request contributions workflow on GitHub. New users are always welcome!

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See the latest VFB news

For announcement of latest features etc.

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Quickstart quide for VFB

  • VFB integrates data curated from the literature with image data from many bulk sources.
  • The search system () allows you to search for neurons and neuroanatomical structures using almost any name found in the literature.
  • The query system () can identify neurons innervating any specified neuropil or fasciculating with any specified tract.
  • It also allows queries for genes, transgenes and phenotypes expressed in any brain region or neuron.
  • Search and query results combine referenced textual descriptions with 3D images and links to originating data sources.
  • VFB features tens of thousands of 3D images of neurons, clones and expression patterns, registered to standard template brains.
  • Any combination of these images can be viewed together.
  • You can hover () to explore brain regions in the Stack Viewer.
  • A BLAST-type query system (NBLAST) allows you to find similar neurons and drivers starting from a registered neuron.

Code with VFBconnect

Interact with VFB via Python!

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Contributions welcome!

We do a Pull Request contributions workflow on GitHub. New users are always welcome!

Read more …

Follow us on Bsky!

For announcement of latest features etc.

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