Trans-synaptic adhesion between Neurexins and Neuroligins is thought to be required for proper synapse organization and modulation, and mutations in several human NEUROLIGINS have shown association with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Here we report the generation and phenotypic characterization of Drosophila neuroligin 2 (dnlg2) mutants. Loss of dnlg2 results in reduced bouton numbers, aberrant pre- and post-synaptic development at neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), and impaired synaptic transmission. In dnlg2 mutants, the evoked responses are decreased in amplitude, whereas the total active zone numbers at the NMJ are comparable to wild type, suggesting a decrease in the release probability. Ultrastructurally, the presynaptic active zone number per bouton area and the postsynaptic density area are both increased in dnlg2 mutants, whereas the subsynaptic reticulum (SSR) is reduced in volume. We show that both pre- and post-synaptic expression of Dnlg2 is required to restore synaptic growth and function in dnlg2 mutants. Post-synaptic expression of Dnlg2 in dnlg2 mutants and wild type leads to reduced bouton growth whereas pre- and post-synaptic overexpression in wild type animals results in synaptic overgrowth. Since Neuroligins have been shown to bind to Neurexins, we created double mutants. These mutants are viable and display phenotypes that closely resemble those of dnlg2 and dnrx single mutants. Our results provide compelling evidence that Dnlg2 functions both pre- and post-synaptically together with Neurexin to determine the proper number of boutons as well as the number of active zones and size of synaptic densities during the development of NMJs
