S. Sprecher publications
2025
Komarov N, Fritsch C, Maier GL, Bues J, Biočanin M, Avalos CB, Dodero A, Kwon JY, Deplancke B and Sprecher SG.
Food hardness preference reveals multisensory contributions of fly larval gustatory organs in behaviour and physiology.
PLoS Biol. 2025 Jan 30;23(1):e3002730.
Roselli C, Hillebrand J, Kaldun J, Monteiro VL, Hurd T, Sprecher SG, Boto T and Ramaswami M.
The ataxin-2 protein is required in kenyon cells for RNP-granule assembly and appetitive long-term memory formation.
J Neurogenet. 2025 Jun-Sep;39(2-3):54-64.
Qin L, Komarov N, Fritsch C, Sprecher SG, Gründer S and Wiemuth D.
The Drosophila DEG/ENaC PPK12 is a Na+ leak channel with a low Na+ affinity.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 28;15(1):27457.
Kaldun JC, Calia E, Bangalore Mukunda GC, Fritsch C, Komarov N and Sprecher SG.
A temporally restricted function of the dopamine receptor Dop1R2 during memory formation.
Elife. 2025 Jul 9;13:RP99368.
Komarov N, Aeschbacher C, Sauterel L, Zuercher E, Bailly X, Martinez P and Sprecher SG.
Sensory discrimination of chemical and temperature stimuli in the acoel Symsagittifera roscoffensis.
PLoS One. 2025 Aug 21;20(8):e0330757.
Sprecher SG.
Disentangling how the brain is wired
Fly (Austin). 2025 Dec;19(1):2440950.
2024
Wang H, Bollepogu Raja KK, Yeung K, Morrison CA, Terrizzano A, Khodadadi-Jamayran A, Chen P, Jordan A, Fritsch C, Sprecher SG, Mardon G and Treisman JE.
Synergistic activation by Glass and Pointed promotes neuronal identity in the Drosophila eye disc
Nature Communications 15 (1), 7091
Martinez P, Bailly X, Sprecher SG and Hartenstein V
The Acoel nervous system: morphology and development
Neural Development 19 (1), 9
2023
Sgammeglia N, Widmer YF, Kaldun JC, Fritsch C, Bruggmann R and Sprecher SG.
Memory phase-specific genes in the Mushroom Bodies identified using CrebB-target DamID.
PLoS Genet. 2023 Jun 12;19(6):e1010802.
Goulty M, Botton-Amiot G, Rosato E, Sprecher SG, Feuda R.
The monoaminergic system is a bilaterian innovation.
Nat Commun. 2023 Jun 6;14(1):3284.
Botton-Amiot G, Martinez P, Sprecher SG.
Associative learning in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Mar 28;120(13):e2220685120.
Martinez P, Ustyantsev K, Biryukov M, Mouton S, Glasenburg L, Sprecher SG, Bailly X, Berezikov E.
Genome assembly of the acoel flatworm Symsagittifera roscoffensis, a model for research on body plan evolution and photosymbiosis.
G3 (Bethesda). 2022 Dec 21:jkac336. doi: 10.1093/g3journal/jkac336
Bunker J, Bashir M, Bailey S, Boodram P, Perry A, Delaney R, Tsachaki M, Sprecher SG, Nelson E, Call GB, Rister J.
Blimp-1/PRDM1 and Hr3/RORβ specify the blue-sensitive photoreceptor subtype in Drosophila by repressing the hippo pathway.
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023 Mar 7;11:1058961
Duruz J, Sprecher M, Kaldun JC, Al-Soudy AS, Lischer HEL, van Geest G, Nicholson P, Bruggmann R and Sprecher SG.
Molecular characterization of cell types in the squid Loligo vulgaris
eLife 12, e80670, 2023
2022
Sprecher M, Sprecher SG and Spadavecchia C
A pilot investigation of the efficacy and safety of magnesium chloride and ethanol as anesthetics in Loligo vulgaris embryos
Frontiers in Physiology, 1880
Komarov N and Sprecher SG.
The chemosensory system of the Drosophila larva: an overview of current understanding.
Fly (Austin). 2022 Dec;16(1):1-12. doi: 10.1080/19336934.2021.1953364. 2021
Sgammeglia N and Sprecher SG
Interplay between metabolic energy regulation and memory pathways in Drosophila.
TRENDS IN NEUROSCIENCE. 2022 Jul;45(7):539-549. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.04.007.
Sprecher SG.
Neural Cell Type Diversity in Cnidaria.
Front Neurosci. 2022 May 24;16:909400. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.909400
Martinez P, Ballarin L, Ereskovsky AV, Gazave E, Hobmayer B, Manni L, Rottinger E, Sprecher SG, Tiozzo S, Varela-Coelho A, Rinkevich B.
Articulating the "stem cell niche" paradigm through the lens of non-model aquatic invertebrates.
BMC Biol. 2022 Jan 20;20(1):23. doi: 10.1186/s12915-022-01230-5.
2021
Maier GL, Komarov N, Meyenhofer F, Kwon JY and Sprecher SG
Taste sensing and sugar detection mechanisms in Drosophila larval primary taste center
eLife 8, e 67844
Kaldun JC, Lone SR, Humbert Camps AM, C Fritsch C, Widmer YF, Stein JV, Tomchik SM and Sprecher SG.
Dopamine, sleep, and neuronal excitability modulate amyloid-β–mediated forgetting in Drosophila
PLoS Biology 19 (10), e3001412
AK Mishra, C Fritsch, R Voutev, RS Mann, SG Sprecher
Homothorax Controls a Binary Rhodopsin Switch in Drosophila Ocelli
PLoS Genetics. 2021 Jul 27;17(7):e1009460.IF: 5.5
Chang Z, Widmer YF, Diegelmann S, Petrovici M, Sprecher* SG and Senn W*
Predictive olfactory learning in Drosophila
Scientific Reports in press
* co-corresponding authors
Brunet Avalos C and Sprecher SG
Single-Cell Transcriptomic Reveals Dual and Multi-Transmitter Use in Neurons Across Metazoans
Frontiers In Molecular Neuroscience. 2021; 14: 623148.
Duruz J, Kaltenrieder C, Ladurner P, Bruggmann R, Martìnez P and Sprecher SG
Acoel single-cell transcriptomics: cell-type analysis of a deep branching bilaterian
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2021 May 4;38(5):1888-1904
2020
Asirim E, Maier GL, Humberg TH, Sprecher SG
Circadian and Genetic Modulation of Visually-Guided Navigation in Drosophila Larvae
Scientific Reports 10.1038/s41598-020-59614
Fritsch C and Sprecher SG
CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing to Study Nervous System Development in Drosophila
Methods Mol Biol. 2020;2047:161-189
Perea-Atienza E, Gavilán B, Sprecher SG, Martinez P.
Immunostaining and In Situ Hybridization of the Developing Acoel Nervous System
Methods Mol Biol. 2020;2047:59-80.
Choi J, Yu S, Choi MS, Jang S, Han IJ, Maier GL, Sprecher SG*, Kwon JY.*
Cellular Basis of Bitter-Driven Aversive Behaviors in Drosophila Larva.
eNeuro. 2020 Apr 24;7(2):ENEURO.0510-19.2020
* co-corresponding authors
2019
Brunet Avalos C, Maier GL, Bruggmann R and Sprecher SG
Single cell transcriptome atlas of the Drosophila larval brain
eLife 8, e 50354
Bo Q, Humberg TH, Kim A, Kim H, Short J, Diao F, White BH, Sprecher SG, Yuan Q
Temporal control of inhibition via muscarinic acetylcholine receptor signaling generates ON and OFF selectivity in a simple visual circuit
Nature Communications 2019 Sep 9;10(1):4093.
de Andres-Bragado L and Sprecher SG.
Mechanisms of vision in the fruit fly.
Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2019 Jun 27;36:25-32. doi: 10.1016
Fritsch C, Bernardo-Garcia FJ, Humberg TH, Mishra AK, Miellet S, Almeida S, Frochaux MV, Deplancke B, Huber A and Sprecher SG.
Multilevel regulation of the glass locus during Drosophila eye development.
PLoS Genetics. 2019 Jul 12;15(7):e1008269. doi: 10.1371
Kaldun JC and Sprecher SG.
Initiated by CREB: Resolving Gene Regulatory Programs in Learning and Memory
Bioessays 2019 Aug;41(8):e1900045. doi: 10.1002
- Javier Bernardo-Garcia, Maryam Syed, Gaspar Jekely, Simon G Sprecher
Glass confers rhabdomeric photoreceptor identity in Drosophila, but not across all metazoans
EvoDevo 2019 Mar 5;10:4. doi: 10.1186
Hartenstein V, Yuan M, Younossi-Hartenstein A, Karandikar A, Bernardo-Garcia FJ, Sprecher SG, Knust E.
Serial electron microscopic reconstruction of the drosophila larval eye: Photoreceptors with a rudimentary rhabdomere of microvillar-like processes.
Developmental Biology. 2019 May 31. pii: S0012-1606(19)30196-4
Gavilán B, Sprecher SG, Hartenstein V, Martinez P.
The digestive system of xenacoelomorphs.
Cell Tissue Res. 2019 May 16
2018
Widmer YF, Fritsch C, Jungo MM, Almeida S, Egger B and Sprecher SG
Multiple neurons encode CrebB dependent appetitive long-term memory in the mushroom body circuit
eLife 7, e39196
Sánchez-Alcañiz JA, Silbering AF, Croset V, Zappia G, Sivasubramaniam AK, Abuin L, Sahai SY, Münch D, Steck K, Auer TO, Cruchet S, Neagu-Maier GL, Sprecher SG, Ribeiro C, Yapici N and Benton R
An expression atlas of variant ionotropic glutamate receptors identifies a molecular basis of carbonation sensing.
Nature Communications. 2018 Oct 12;9(1):4252.
Humberg TH and Sprecher SG
Two Pairs of Drosophila Central Brain Neurons Mediate Larval Navigational Strategies Based on Temporal Light Information Processing
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 2018 Dec. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00305
de Andres-Bragado L, Mazza C, Senn W and Sprecher SG
Statistical modelling of navigational decisions based on intensity versus directionality in Drosophila larval phototaxis
Scientific Reports 8 (1), 11272
Widmer YF, Bilican A, Bruggmann R, Sprecher SG.
Regulators of Long-Term Memory Revealed by Mushroom Body-Specific Gene Expression Profiling in Drosophila melanogaster.
Genetics. 2018 Jun 20. pii: genetics.301106.2018.
Mishra AK, Bernardo-Garcia FJ, Fritsch C, Egger B and Sprecher SG
Patterning Mechanisms Diversifying Neuroepithelial Domains of the Drosophila Optic Placode
PLoS Genetics 2018 Apr 20;14(4):e1007353.
Humberg TH, Bruegger P, Afonso B, Zlatic M, Truman JW, Gershow M, Samuel ADT and Sprecher SG
Dedicated photoreceptor pathways in Drosophila larvae mediate navigation by processing either spatial or temporal cues
Nature Communications 2018 Mar 28;9(1):1260.
Brauchle M, Bilican A, Eyer C, Bailly X, Martínez P, Ladurner P, Bruggmann R, Sprecher SG.
Xenacoelomorpha Survey Reveals That All 11 Animal Homeobox Gene Classes Were Present in the First Bilaterians
Genome Biol Evol. 2018 Sep 1;10(9):2205-2217. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evy170.
Perea-Atienza E, Sprecher SG, Martínez P.
Characterization of the bHLH family of transcriptional regulators in the acoel S. roscoffensis and their putative role in neurogenesis.
EvoDevo. 2018 Mar 29;9:8.
Arboleda E, Hartenstein V, Martinez P, Reichert H, Sen S, Sprecher SG, Bailly X.
An Emerging System to Study Photosymbiosis, Brain Regeneration, Chronobiology, and Behavior: The Marine Acoel Symsagittifera roscoffensis.
Bioessays. 2018 Oct;40(10):e1800107.
Kendroud S, Bohra AA, Kuert PA, Nguen B, Guillermin O, Sprecher SG, Reichert H, VijaRaghavan, Hartenstein V
Structure and Development of the Subesophageal Zone of the Drosophila Brain. II. Sensory Compartments
Journal of Comparative Neurology 2017 Sept 6, doi:10.1002/cne.24316
2017
Larderet I, Fritsch PMJ, Gendre N, Neagu-Maier GL, Fetter RD, Schneider-Mizell CM, Truman JW, Zlatic M, Cardona A and Sprecher SG.
Organization of the Drosophila larval visual circuit
eLife 2017;6:e28387. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.28387
Burkhardt P. and Sprecher SG.
Evolutionary origin of synapses and neurons – Bridging the gap
Bioessays 39: 1700024
Almeida-Carvalho et al.*
The Ol1mpiad: concordance of behavioural faculties of stage 1 and stage 3 Drosophila larvae
* larval Olympiad consortium (all authors in alphabetical order)
Journal of Experimental Biology
Bernardo-Garcia FJ, Humberg TH, Fritsch C and Sprecher SG.
Successive requirement of Glass and Hazy for photoreceptor specification and maintenance in Drosophila.
Fly (Austin). 2017 Vol0:1-9.
Martinez P, Perea-Atienza E, Gavilán B, Fernandez C and Sprecher SG
The study of xenacoelomorph nervous systems Molecular and morphological perspectives
Invertebrate Zoology, 2017, 14(1)
Humberg T and Sprecher SG
Age- and Wavelength-Dependency of Drosophila Larval Phototaxis and Behavioral Responses to Natural Lighting Conditions
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, April 2017 doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00066
2016
van Giesen L, Neagu-Maier GL, Kwon JY, Sprecher SG.
A microfluidics-based method for measuring neuronal activity in Drosophila chemosensory neurons.
Nature Protocols. 2016 Dec;11(12):2389-2400.
Choi J, van Giesen L, Choi MS, Kang K, Sprecher SG*, Kwon JY*.
A Pair of Pharyngeal Gustatory Receptor Neurons Regulates Caffeine-Dependent Ingestion in Drosophila Larvae.
Frontiers In Cellular Neuroscience. 2016 Jul 19;10:181.
* co-corresponding authors
Spühler IA, Conley GM, Scheffold F, Sprecher SG.
Super Resolution Imaging of Genetically Labeled Synapses in Drosophila Brain Tissue.
Frontiers In Cellular Neuroscience. 2016 May 26;10:142.
Bernardo-Garcia FJ, Fritsch C, Sprecher SG.
The transcription factor Glass links eye field specification with photoreceptor differentiation in Drosophila.
Development. 2016 Apr 15;143(8):1413-23.
van Giesen L, Hernandez-Nunez L, Delasoie-Baranek S, Colombo M, Renaud P, Bruggmann R, Benton R, Samuel AD, Sprecher SG.
Multimodal stimulus coding by a gustatory sensory neuron in Drosophila larvae.
Nature Communications. 2016 Feb 11;7:10687
Mishra AK, Bargmann BO, Tsachaki M, Fritsch C, Sprecher SG.
Functional genomics identifies regulators of the phototransduction machinery in the Drosophila larval eye and adult ocelli.
Developmental Biology. 2016 Feb 15;410(2):164-77
2015
Sprecher SG, Bernardo-Garcia FJ, van Giesen L, Hartenstein V, Reichert H, Neves R, Bailly X, Martinez P, Brauchle M.
Functional brain regeneration in the acoel worm Symsagittifera roscoffensis.
Biology Open. 2015 Nov 18;4(12):1688-95.
Guillermin O, Perruchoud B, Sprecher SG*, Egger B.*
Characterization of tailless functions during Drosophila optic lobe formation.
Developmental Biology. 2015 Sep 15;405(2):202-13.
* co-corresponding authors
Bressan JM, Benz M, Oettler J, Heinze J, Hartenstein V and Sprecher SG.
A map of brain neuropils and fiber systems in the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior.
Frontiers in Neuroanatomy. 2015 Feb 4;8:166.
Pauls D, von Essen A, Lyutova R, van Giesen L, Rosner R, Wegner C and Sprecher SG
Potency of transgenic effectors for neurogenetic manipulations in Drosophila larvae
Genetics, 2015 Jan;199(1):25-37
Klein M, Afonso B, Vonner AJ, Hernandez-Nunez L, Berck M, Tabone CJ, Kane EA, Pieribone VA, Nitabach MN, Cardona A, Zlatic M, Sprecher SG, Gershow M, Garrity PA, Samuel AD. Sensory determinants of behavioral dynamics in Drosophila thermotaxis.
PNAS. 2015 Jan 13;112(2):E220-9.
2014
Diegelmann S and Sprecher SG
Forgetting those painful moments
TRENDS IN NEUROSCIENCE. 2014 May;37(5):245-6.
Brauchle M, Hansen S, Caussinus E, Lenard A, Ochoa-Espinosa A, Scholz O, Sprecher SG, Plückthun A and Affolter M.
Protein interference applications in cellular and developmental biology using
Biology Open, 2014 Nov 21;3(12):1252-61
2013
Farca-Luna AJ, Sprecher SG.
Plasticity in the Drosophila larval visual system.
Frontiers In Cellular Neuroscience. 2013 Jul 4;7:105.
Mishra AK, Tsachaki M, Rister J, Ng J, Celik A, Sprecher SG. Binary Cell Fate Decisions and Fate Transformation in the Drosophila Larval Eye. PLoS GENETICS. 2013 Dec;9(12):e1004027.
Kane LA, Gershow M, Klein M, Carter AR, Larderet I, de Bivort BL, Sprecher SG*, Samuel ADT*
The physical and behavioral basis of Drosophila larval phototaxis
PNAS, 2013 Oct 1;110(40)
* co-corresponding authors
De Vaux V, Pfefferli C, Passannante M, Belhaj K, von Essen AM, Sprecher SG, Müller F and Wicky C
“The chromatin remodeler LET-418/Mi-2 plays a conserved role in lifespan determination”
Aging Cell, 2013 Jul 1
Egger B, Moraru M, van Giesen L and Sprecher SG.
In vitro imaging of primary neural cell culture from Drosophila
Nature Protocols, 2013 Apr 18;8(5):958-965
Farca Luna A, von Essen AM, Widmer Y and Sprecher SG.
Light preference assay to study innate and circadian regulated photobehavior in Drosophila larvae.
JoVE, 2013 April 20;(74)
2012
Keene AC and Sprecher SG.
Seeing the light: photobehavior in fruit fly larvae,
TRENDS IN NEUROSCIENCE. 2012 Feb;35(2):104-10
Huser A, Rohwedder A, Maiolo EM, Selcho M, Pauls D, von Essen AM, Gupta T, Sprecher SG, Birman S, Riemensperger T, Stocker RF and Thum AS
The Serotonergic Central Nervous System of the Drosophila Larva: Anatomy and Behavioral Function.
PLoS ONE 2012;7(10).
Moraru M, Egger B, Bao D. and Sprecher SG.
Analysis of cell identity, morphology, apoptosis and mitotic activity in a primary neural cell culture system in Drosophila.
Neural Development, 2012, Jun 20;7(1):14
2011
Tsachaki M and Sprecher SG. “Genetic and Devellopmental mechanisms underlying the formation of the Drosophila compound eye”.
Developmental Dynamics, 2011Jan;241(1):40-56.
Diaz NN and Sprecher SG
Photoreceptors: Unconventional ways of seeing
Current Biology. 2011 Jan 11;21 (1):R25-7
Vasiliauskas D, Mazzoni EO, Sprecher SG, Brodetskiy K, Johnston Jr RJ, Lidder P, Vogt N, Celik A, Desplan C
Feedback from rhodopsin controls rhodopsin exclusion in Drosophila photoreceptors. Nature. 2011 Oct 9
von Essen AM, Pauls D, Thum AS, Sprecher SG. “Capacity of visual classical conditioning in Drosophila larvae”.
Behavioral Neuroscience. 2011 Oct 3
Sprecher SG, Cardona A, Hartenstein V.
The Drosophila larval visual system: high-resolution analysis of a simple visual network.
Develpmental Biology 2011 Oct 1;358(1):33-43.
Keene AC, Mazzoni EO, Zhen J, Younger MA, Yamaguchi S, Blau J, Desplan C, Sprecher SG
Distinct visual pathways mediate Drosophila larval light avoidance and circadian clock entrainment.
Journal of Neuroscience. 2011 Apr 27;31(17):6527-34.
Sprecher SG and Desplan C
Switch of rhodopsin expression in terminally differentiated Drosophila sensory neurons
Nature, 2008 Jul 24 454 (7203):533-537
Sprecher SG, Pichaud F and Desplan C
Adult and larval photoreceptors use different mechanisms to specify the same Rhodopsin fates
Genes and Development 2007 Sep 1;21(17):2182-95.
Sprecher SG, Reichert H and Hartenstein V
Gene expression patterns in primary neuronal clusters of the Drosophila embryonic brain
Gene Expression 2007 Apr;7(5):584-95
Sprecher SG, Urbach R, Technau GM, Rijli FM, Reichert H, and Hirth F
The columnar gene vnd is required for tritocerebral neuromere formation during embryonic brain development of Drosophila
DEVELOPMENT 133 (21): 4331-9. Nov 2006
Sprecher SG, Hirth F
The dorsoventral patterning gene msh is required for tritocerebral neuromere formation during embryonic brain development of Drosophila
Developmental Dynamics 235 (11):2920-9. Nov 2006
Meier S, Sprecher SG, Reichert H, Hirth F
ventral veins lacking is required for specification of the tritocerebrum in embryonic brain development of Drosophila
Mechanisms of Development 123 (1): 76-83 JAN 2006
Sprecher SG, Müller M, Kammermeier L, Miller D, Kaufman TC, Reichert H, Hirth F
Hox gene cross-regulatory interactions in the embryonic brain of Drosophila
Mechanisms of Development 121 (6): 527-536 JUN 2004
Sprecher SG, Galle S, Reichert H
Substrate specificity and juvenile Faviid predominance of coral colonization at the Maldive Islands following the 1998 bleaching event
Coral Reefs 22 (2): 130-132 JUL 2003