Structural insights into wiring specificity in the neuromuscular system through the Beat-Side complex

Nervous system assembly is guided by the actions of cell surface receptors. In Drosophila, members of the Beaten Path (Beat) and Sidestep (Side) protein families have been described as axon guidance receptor-cue pairs, in addition to roles in specifying synaptic connectivity in the optic lobe. To understand the molecular basis and specificity of Beat-Side interactions, we report here the first Beat-Side structure, Beat-Vc bound to Side-VI. The structure showed a binding topology similar to other neuronal immunoglobulin superfamily receptors, especially Nectins, SynCAMs, Dprs and DIPs, despite lack of established evolutionary relationships. Using a structure-based rational approach, we engineered and validated point mutations to break the binding between Beats and Sides. Using these mutant variants, we demonstrated in developing Drosophila larvae that the interaction between Beat-Ia and Side is required for establishing proper connectivity of motor neurons with muscles.