Papers citing Virtual Fly Brain

This is a sample, not a citation list. A literature sweep in 2026 found more than 200 papers that mention or cite Virtual Fly Brain, and around a quarter of those state a concrete thing they did with it. What follows is a selection of those, chosen to show the range of ways VFB gets used — from downloading a neuron to citing the site as the model for an atlas in another species. It is not exhaustive, it is not ranked, and omission means nothing.

Each entry says what the paper used VFB for, in the paper’s own terms where they said so.

If you have used VFB in a paper we have missed, please get in touch. See how to cite us for the citations to use.

Research papers

1. Shen D et al. — Cell Reports, 2025

Cross-linked transcriptomic and connectome data using the query tool.

Shen D, Vincent A, Udine E, Buhidma Y, Anoar S, Tsintzas E, Maeland M, Xu D, Carcolé M, Osumi-Sutherland D, Aleyakpo B, Hull A, Martínez Corrales G, Woodling N, Rademakers R, Isaacs AM, Frigerio C, van Blitterswijk M, Lashley T, Niccoli T. Cell Reports (2025). doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115459 Last author: Teresa Niccoli, UCL, UK

2. Zhang T et al. — PLoS Biology, 2025

Explored connectivity by brain region.

Zhang T, Wu Z, Song Y, Ryu TH, Zhang X, Li W, Sun Y, Wong K, Schweizer J, Nguyen KH, Kwan A, Yu K, Kim WJ. PLoS Biology (2025). doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3003330 Last author: Woo Jae Kim, University of Ottawa, Canada

3. Dürr B et al. — Cell Reports, 2025

Compared morphology in light- and electron-microscopy data.

Dürr B, Bertolini E, Takagi S, Pascual J, Abuin L, Lucarelli G, Benton R, Auer T. Cell Reports (2025). doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115615 Last author: Thomas Auer, University of Fribourg, Switzerland

4. Mohamed A et al. — Frontiers in Physiology, 2023

Explored morphology and connectivity.

Mohamed A, Malekou I, Sim T, O’Kane CJ, Maait Y, Scullion B, Masuda-Nakagawa LM. Frontiers in Physiology (2023). doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1111244 Last author: Liria M. Masuda-Nakagawa, University of Cambridge, UK

5. Yamakoshi H et al. — iScience, 2025

Compared morphology.

Yamakoshi H, Horigome M, Yamamoto S, Iwanami S, Iwami S, Tanaka R, Ishikawa Y, Kamikouchi A. iScience (2025). doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.113232 Last author: Azusa Kamikouchi, Nagoya University, Japan

6. Song Y et al. — PLoS Biology, 2025

Explored morphology and expression pattern.

Song Y, Zhang T, Ryu TH, Wong K, Wu Z, Wei Y, Schweizer J, Nguyen KH, Kwan A, Zhang X, Yu K, Kim WJ. PLoS Biology (2025). doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3003345 Last author: Woo Jae Kim, University of Ottawa, Canada

7. Goldschmidt D et al. — bioRxiv, 2023

Explored morphology and expression pattern.

Goldschmidt D, Tastekin I, Münch D, Park J-Y, Haberkern H, Serra L, Baltazar C, Jayaraman V, Rubin GM, Ribeiro C. bioRxiv (2023). doi:10.1101/2023.07.19.549514 Last author: Carlos Ribeiro, Champalimaud, Portugal

8. Cheong HSJ et al. — eLife, 2026

Retrieved tract meshes.

Cheong HSJ, Eichler K, Stürner T, Asinof SK, Champion AS, Marin EC, Oram TB, Sumathipala M, Venkatasubramanian L, Namiki S, Siwanowicz I, Costa M, Berg S, Janelia FlyEM Project Team, Jefferis GSXE, Card GM. eLife (2026). doi:10.7554/eLife.96084 Last author: Gwyneth M. Card, Columbia University, USA

9. Davidson AM et al. — eNeuro, 2023

Explored morphology and expression pattern.

Davidson AM, Kaushik S, Hige T. eNeuro (2023). doi:10.1523/ENEURO.0275-23.2023 Last author: Toshihide Hige, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

10. Imoto K et al. — iScience, 2024

Visualised morphology.

Imoto K, Ishikawa Y, Aso Y, Funke J, Tanaka R, Kamikouchi A. iScience (2024). doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.110266 Last author: Azusa Kamikouchi, Nagoya University, Japan

11. Castaneda AN et al. — PLoS Genetics, 2024

Identified tracts.

Castaneda AN, Huda A, Whitaker IBM, Reilly JE, Shelby GS, Bai H, Ni L. PLoS Genetics (2024). doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1011190 Last author: Lina Ni, Virginia Tech, USA

12. O’Hara MK et al. — Sleep, 2024

Examined regional expression of GAL4 lines.

O’Hara MK, Saul C, Handa A, Cho B, Zheng X, Sehgal A, Williams JA. Sleep (2024). doi:10.1093/sleep/zsae096 Last author: Julie A. Williams, University of Pennsylvania, USA

13. Sakr R et al. — EMBO Reports, 2026

Visualised neurons and brain regions.

Sakr R, Monticelli S, Kizhakkenottiyath Shasthadevan S, Delaporte C, Zhang G, Tabiat T, Giangrande A, Cattenoz PB. EMBO Reports (2026). doi:10.1038/s44319-026-00728-1 Last author: Pierre B. Cattenoz, CNRS Illkirch, France

14. Jiang H et al. — bioRxiv, 2025

Used brain templates.

Jiang H, Walker LA, Li Y, Duan B, Niu X, Hsieh JC, Cheng MC, Su H, Sheng K, Tang JP, Athukorala K, Greene S, Pan R, Parlapalli A, Yin P, Cui M, Cai D. bioRxiv (2025). doi:10.1101/2025.05.31.657163 Last author: Dawen Cai, University of Michigan, USA

15. Olivera RA et al. — Neuroinformatics, 2026

Retrieved neuron names, aliases and neurotransmitter expression.

Olivera RA. Neuroinformatics (2026). doi:10.1007/s12021-026-09783-4 Last author: R. A. Olivera, NST Mangalore, India

16. Palmieri E et al. — bioRxiv, 2026

Confirmed gene expression.

Palmieri E, Coon M, Sobukunola A, Sutton L, Vonhoff FJ. bioRxiv (2026). doi:10.64898/2026.04.22.720032 Last author: Fernando J. Vonhoff, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA

17. Wright N et al. — Bioinformatics Advances, 2023

Visualised brain regions and neurons.

Wright N, Rowlands CJ. Bioinformatics Advances (2023). doi:10.1093/bioadv/vbad182 Last author: Christopher J. Rowlands, Imperial College London, UK

18. Münch D et al. — Nature, 2022

Retrieved registered neurons for analysis.

Münch D, Goldschmidt D, Ribeiro C. Nature (2022). doi:10.1038/s41586-022-04909-5 Last author: Carlos Ribeiro, Champalimaud, Portugal

19. Jetti SK et al. — Neuron, 2023

Explored morphology and connectivity.

Jetti SK, Crane AB, Akbergenova Y, Aponte-Santiago NA, Cunningham KL, Whittaker CA, Littleton JT. Neuron (2023). doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2023.07.019 Last author: J. Troy Littleton, MIT, USA

20. Xie T et al. — Cell Reports, 2018

Retrieved templates and GAL4 expression patterns.

Xie T, Ho MCW, Liu Q, Horiuchi W, Lin CC, Task D, Luan H, White BH, Potter CJ, Wu MN. Cell Reports (2018). doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2018.03.068 Last author: Mark N. Wu, Johns Hopkins, USA

21. May CE et al. — eLife, 2020

Visualised neurons.

May CE, Rosander J, Gottfried J, Dennis E, Dus M. eLife (2020). doi:10.7554/eLife.54530 Last author: Monica Dus, University of Michigan, USA

22. Goulard R et al. — PLoS Computational Biology, 2021

Retrieved connectivity data.

Goulard R, Buehlmann C, Niven JE, Graham P, Webb B. PLoS Computational Biology (2021). doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009383 Last author: Barbara Webb, University of Edinburgh, UK

23. Coates KE et al. — Journal of Neuroscience, 2020

Compared morphology and expression pattern.

Coates KE, Calle-Schuler SA, Helmick LM, Knotts VL, Martik BN, Salman F, Warner LT, Valla SV, Bock DD, Dacks AM. Journal of Neuroscience (2020). doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0552-20.2020 Last author: Andrew M. Dacks, West Virginia University, USA

24. Gkanias E et al. — eLife, 2022

Visualised neurons.

Gkanias E, McCurdy LY, Nitabach MN, Webb B. eLife (2022). doi:10.7554/eLife.75611 Last author: Barbara Webb, University of Edinburgh, UK

25. Chen KF et al. — eLife, 2019

Retrieved GAL4 expression patterns.

Chen KF, Lowe S, Lamaze A, Krätschmer P, Jepson J. eLife (2019). doi:10.7554/eLife.38114 Last author: James Jepson, UCL, UK

26. Odell SR et al. — Scientific Reports, 2022

Explored morphology and connectivity.

Odell SR, Clark D, Zito N, Jain R, Gong H, Warnock K, Carrion-Lopez R, Maixner C, Prieto-Godino L, Mathew D. Scientific Reports (2022). doi:10.1038/s41598-022-20147-1 Last author: Dennis Mathew, University of Nevada, Reno, USA

27. Tsuji M et al. — Nature Communications, 2023

Explored morphology, expression patterns and connectivity.

Tsuji M, Nishizuka Y, Emoto K. Nature Communications (2023). doi:10.1038/s41467-023-39667-z Last author: Kazuo Emoto, University of Tokyo, Japan

28. Hartenstein V et al. — Developmental Biology, 2015

Identified tracts.

Hartenstein V, Younossi-Hartenstein A, Lovick JK, Kong A, Omoto JJ, Ngo KT, Viktorin G. Developmental Biology (2015). doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2015.06.021 Last author: Volker Hartenstein, UCLA, USA

29. Hildebrandt K et al. — Developmental Biology, 2022

Assigned expression to structures and lineages.

Hildebrandt K, Klöppel C, Gogel J, Hartenstein V, Walldorf U. Developmental Biology (2022). doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2022.09.006 Last author: Uwe Walldorf, Saarland University, Germany

30. Afkhami M et al. — Journal of Neurogenetics, 2024

Compared morphology and expression pattern.

Afkhami M. Journal of Neurogenetics (2024). doi:10.1080/01677063.2024.2396352 Last author: Mehrnaz Afkhami, University of Oklahoma, USA

31. Mollá-Albaladejo R et al. — eLife, 2025

Retrieved skeletons and aligned them to a template.

Mollá-Albaladejo R, Jiménez-Caballero M, Sanchez-Alcaniz JA. eLife (2025). doi:10.7554/eLife.100947 Last author: Juan Antonio Sanchez-Alcaniz, Institute of Neuroscience, Alicante, Spain

32. Chen YD et al. — Journal of Experimental Biology, 2019

Ran a morphology screen for candidate driver lines.

Chen YD, Ahmad S, Amin K, Dahanukar A. Journal of Experimental Biology (2019). doi:10.1242/jeb.210724 Last author: Anupama Dahanukar, University of California Riverside, USA

33. Aimon S et al. — PLoS Biology, 2019

Visualised brain regions and neurons.

Aimon S, Katsuki T, Jia T, Grosenick L, Broxton M, Deisseroth K, Sejnowski TJ, Greenspan RJ. PLoS Biology (2019). doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2006732 Last author: Ralph J. Greenspan, UCSD, USA

34. Zheng Z et al. — Cell, 2018

Used a mesh in the template brain to trim skeletons of EM- and LM-reconstructed neurons.

Zheng Z, Lauritzen JS, Perlman E, Robinson CG, Nichols M, Milkie D, Torrens O, Price J, Fisher CB, Sharifi N, Calle-Schuler SA, Kmecova L, Ali IJ, Karsh B, Trautman ET, Bogovic JA, Hanslovsky P, Jefferis GSXE, Kazhdan M, Khairy K, Saalfeld S, Fetter RD, Bock DD. Cell (2018). doi:10.1016/j.cell.2018.06.019 Last author: Davi D. Bock, HHMI Janelia, USA

35. Liang Q et al. — bioRxiv, 2026

Analysed brain-region morphology of neurons.

Liang Q, Liu Q, Ning J, Lv Q, Zhang X, Wang K, Sun Y. bioRxiv (2026). doi:10.64898/2026.05.29.728103 Last author: Yi Sun, Westlake University, Zhejiang, China

36. Bates AS et al. — Current Biology, 2020

Retrieved reconstructions of neurons from EM data.

Bates AS, Schlegel P, Roberts RJV, Drummond N, Tamimi IFM, Turnbull R, Zhao X, Marin EC, Popovici PD, Dhawan S, Jamasb A, Javier A, Serratosa Capdevila L, Li F, Rubin GM, Waddell S, Bock DD, Costa M, Jefferis GSXE. Current Biology (2020). doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.042 Last author: Gregory S. X. E. Jefferis, LMB and University of Cambridge, UK

37. Okuno T et al. — bioRxiv, 2025

Retrieved a brain-region atlas.

Okuno T, Woodward A, Okano H, Hata J. bioRxiv (2025). doi:10.1101/2025.07.01.662601 Last author: Junichi Hata, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan

38. Otsuna H et al. — bioRxiv, 2018

Retrieved reconstructions of neurons from EM data.

Otsuna H, Ito M, Kawase T. bioRxiv (2018). doi:10.1101/318006 Last author: Takashi Kawase, HHMI Janelia, USA

39. Mann K et al. — Current Biology, 2017

Used a template and brain-region atlas to align calcium-imaging data.

Mann K, Gallen CL, Clandinin TR. Current Biology (2017). doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.076 Last author: Thomas R. Clandinin, Stanford University, USA

40. Yu HH et al. — Current Biology, 2013

Explored morphology and expression pattern.

Yu HH, Awasaki T, Schroeder MD, Long F, Yang JS, He Y, Ding P, Kao JC, Wu GY, Peng H, Myers G, Lee T. Current Biology (2013). doi:10.1016/j.cub.2013.02.057 Last author: Tzumin Lee, HHMI Janelia and University of Massachusetts, USA

41. Lee YJ et al. — eLife, 2020

Explored morphology and expression pattern.

Lee YJ, Yang CP, Miyares RL, Huang YF, He Y, Ren Q, Chen HM, Kawase T, Ito M, Otsuna H, Sugino K, Aso Y, Ito K, Lee T. eLife (2020). doi:10.7554/eLife.53518 Last author: Tzumin Lee, HHMI Janelia, USA

42. Marquis M et al. — Current Biology, 2022

Cross-referenced cell-type names against VFB exemplars.

Marquis M, Wilson RI. Current Biology (2022). doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.008 Last author: Rachel I. Wilson, Harvard Medical School, USA

43. Scheffer LK et al. — eLife, 2020

Retrieved neuron names and synonyms.

Scheffer LK, Xu CS, Januszewski M, Lu Z, Takemura SY, Hayworth KJ, Huang GB, Shinomiya K, Maitlin-Shepard J, Berg S, Clements J, Hubbard PM, Katz WT, et al.. eLife (2020). doi:10.7554/eLife.57443 Last author: Stephen M. Plaza, HHMI Janelia, USA

Honourable mentions

Reviews, book chapters and papers that discuss VFB as a resource rather than using it for a specific analysis.

Fiala A et al. — Learning & Memory (2024)

Cited VFB as a platform connecting connectome neurons to existing Drosophila resources, and as an example of the collaborative infrastructure behind 25 years of mushroom body research.

Fiala A, Kaun KR. Learning & Memory (2024). doi:10.1101/lm.053827.123 Last author: Karla R. Kaun, Brown University, USA

Forrest H et al. — In: Home Cage Monitoring in Rodents: A Global Effort, Springer (2026)

Held up VFB’s provenance system as an example of effective data integration, linking entries to original sources with machine-readable metadata.

Forrest H, Huzard D, Restivo L, Baran SW, Petit-Demoulière B. In: Home Cage Monitoring in Rodents: A Global Effort, Springer (2026). doi:10.1007/978-3-032-19781-8_10 Last author: Benoit Petit-Demoulière, University of Strasbourg, France

Heinze S et al. — eLife (2021)

Described VFB as the main repository for Drosophila anatomical data and the model for what a unified insect-neuroscience platform should provide. This is the paper introducing the Insect Brain Database, with which VFB cross-links across species.

“…the main site to locate GAL4 driver lines, single-cell morphologies, and synaptic connectivity data.”

Heinze S, El Jundi B, Berg BG, Homberg U, Menzel R, Pfeiffer K, Hensgen R, Zittrell F, Dacke M, Warrant E, Pfuhl G, Rybak J, Tedore K. eLife (2021). doi:10.7554/eLife.65376 Last author: Kevin Tedore, Lund University, Sweden

More examples, grouped by what VFB was used for

A second set, drawn from a wider literature sweep and grouped by the kind of use rather than by date. Where a paper states its use explicitly, the note reflects what it says.

Downloading neurons and reconstructions

• Molecular characterization of gustatory second-order neurons reveals integrative mechanisms of gustatory and metabolic information — Mollá-Albaladejo et al., bioRxiv (2024). Retrieved sweet and bitter gustatory receptor neuron skeletons from the VFB interface. doi:10.1101/2024.06.17.598832
• Synaptic density and relative connectivity conservation maintain circuit stability across development — Fritz et al., bioRxiv (2025). Downloaded L1 and L3 EM skeletons from VFB. doi:10.1101/2025.07.26.666968
• The Neuronal Circuit of the Dorsal Circadian Clock Neurons in Drosophila melanogaster — Reinhard et al., Frontiers in Physiology (2022). Obtained clock neuron reconstructions from the FAFB CATMAID server VFB hosts. doi:10.3389/fphys.2022.886432
• Octopaminergic neurons have multiple targets in Drosophila larval mushroom body calyx and can modulate behavioral odor discrimination — Wong et al., Learning & Memory (2021). Worked from the larval L1EM CATMAID resource hosted on VFB. doi:10.1101/lm.052159.120
• The natverse, a versatile toolbox for combining and analysing neuroanatomical data — Bates et al., eLife (2020). Reads FAFB data from a live CATMAID project hosted by VFB. doi:10.7554/elife.53350
• Neuroecology of alcohol risk and reward: Methanol boosts pheromones and courtship success in Drosophila melanogaster — Keesey et al., Science Advances (2025). Compared single-neuron reconstructions against datasets obtained from VFB. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adi9683

Using the template brains, meshes and neuropil labels

• Prominent involvement of acetylcholine dynamics in stable olfactory representation across the Drosophila brain — Fan et al., Nature Communications (2025). Sourced the Drosophila brain atlas from VFB. doi:10.1038/s41467-025-63823-2
• Global change in brain state during spontaneous and forced walk in Drosophila is composed of combined activity patterns of different neuron classes — Aimon et al., eLife (2023). Took the anatomical reference and registration template from VFB. doi:10.7554/elife.85202
• A sex-specific switch between visual and olfactory inputs underlies adaptive sex differences in behavior — Nojima et al., Current Biology (2021). Made schematics by modifying the JFRC2 template and neuropil labels downloaded from VFB. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.047
• FlyWire: online community for whole-brain connectomics — Dorkenwald et al., Nature Methods (2021). Acquired the v14 whole-brain neuropil rendering from the VFB website. doi:10.1038/s41592-021-01330-0
• Neuronal wiring diagram of an adult brain — Dorkenwald et al., Nature (2024). Used JFRC2 full-brain segmentation meshes shared with the VFB project. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07558-y
• Visual Input into the Drosophila melanogaster Mushroom Body — Li et al., Cell Reports (2020). Identified innervated neuropils by comparing confocal images with the JFRC2 template on VFB. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108138
• The functional organization of descending sensory-motor pathways in Drosophila — Namiki et al., bioRxiv (2017). Obtained brain segmentation data for figures from VFB. doi:10.1101/231696
• Synaptic circuitry of identified neurons in the antennal lobe of Drosophila melanogaster — Rybak et al., Journal of Comparative Neurology (2016). Used the Drosophila brain atlas at VFB as the anatomical reference. doi:10.1002/cne.23966
• A Statistically Representative Atlas for Mapping Neuronal Circuits in the Drosophila Adult Brain — Arganda-Carreras et al., Frontiers in Neuroinformatics (2018). Found VFB to be the only site providing the aligned atlas data the study needed. doi:10.3389/fninf.2018.00013
• A protocol to detect neurodegeneration in Drosophila melanogaster whole-brain mounts using advanced microscopy — Behnke et al., STAR Protocols (2021). Points readers to VFB as the reference for normal neuroanatomy when scoring degeneration. doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100689
• Neural circuit mechanisms for steering control in walking Drosophila — Rayshubskiy et al., eLife (2025). Cites VFB as where an image of the driver line can be found. doi:10.7554/elife.102230

Matching light microscopy to EM, and cell typing

• Sexually dimorphic neurons in the Drosophila whole-brain connectome — Deutsch et al., bioRxiv (2025). Downloaded light microscopy image collections from VFB to match against EM reconstructions. doi:10.1101/2025.06.10.658788
• Olfactory projection neuron rewiring in the brain of an ecological specialist — Duerr et al., bioRxiv (2024). Brought melanogaster light imaging data from VFB and two connectomes into a D. sechellia frame of reference. doi:10.1101/2024.07.26.605288
• Whole-brain annotation and multi-connectome cell typing of Drosophila — Schlegel et al., Nature (2024). Annotations link connectome cell types back to the literature through VFB. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07686-5
• Communication from Learned to Innate Olfactory Processing Centers Is Required for Memory Retrieval in Drosophila — Dolan et al., Neuron (2018). Figures and analysis include data from VFB. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2018.08.037

Publishing data through VFB

• A split-GAL4 driver line resource for Drosophila neuron types — Meissner et al., eLife (2025). Images of every selected split-GAL4 line are made available through VFB. doi:10.7554/eLife.98405
• Drosophila gustatory projections are segregated by taste modality and connectivity — Engert et al., eLife (2022). FAFB neuronal reconstructions released through VFB. doi:10.7554/elife.78110
• Information flow, cell types and stereotypy in a full olfactory connectome — Schlegel et al., eLife (2021). New FAFB tracing made available through the public CATMAID instance VFB hosts. doi:10.7554/elife.66018
• Neurotransmitter classification from electron microscopy images at synaptic sites in Drosophila melanogaster — Eckstein et al., Cell (2024). Neurotransmitter predictions released through the VFB project. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2024.03.016
• A Systematic Nomenclature for the Drosophila Ventral Nerve Cord — Court et al., Neuron (2020). The VNC nomenclature it defines is distributed through VFB. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2020.08.005

Named among the tools for connectome analysis

• Connectomics and the neural basis of behaviour — Galili et al., Current Opinion in Insect Science (2022). Lists VFB among the resources recommended for connectome-driven circuit analysis. doi:10.1016/j.cois.2022.100968
• Accelerating with FlyBrainLab the discovery of the functional logic of the Drosophila brain in the connectomic and synaptomic era — Lazar et al., eLife (2021). Integrates VFB alongside FlyCircuit, neuPrint and CATMAID. doi:10.7554/elife.62362
• The Fruit Fly Brain Observatory: From Structure to Function — Ukani et al., bioRxiv (2019). Compares its own design with VFB’s. doi:10.1101/580290
• Neuronal cell types in the fly: single-cell anatomy meets single-cell genomics — Bates et al., Current Opinion in Neurobiology (2019). Names VFB as the resource collating fly cell-type anatomy. doi:10.1016/j.conb.2018.12.012
• Convergent olfactory circuits for courtship in Drosophila revealed by ds -Tango — Fisher et al., bioRxiv (2024). Cites VFB as a database giving ready access to EM volumes. doi:10.1101/2024.10.23.619891

Cited as a model for other atlases and ontologies

• iBrAVE: a unified framework for 3D interactive and integrative analysis of brain atlas data across modalities and scales — Wang et al., bioRxiv (2025). Cites VFB as the precedent community atlas portal for Drosophila. doi:10.1101/2025.10.04.680445
• A single-cell resolution gene expression atlas of the larval zebrafish brain — Shainer et al., bioRxiv (2022). Names the VFB browser as the exemplar multimodal atlas query resource. doi:10.1101/2022.02.11.479024
• Planarian Anatomy Ontology: a resource to connect data within and across experimental platforms — Nowotarski et al., Development (2021). Cites VFB as the exemplar ontology-driven field resource. doi:10.1242/dev.196097
• InsectBrainDatabase - A unified platform to manage, share, and archive morphological and functional data — Heinze et al., bioRxiv (2020). Positions itself relative to VFB as the established single-species precedent. doi:10.1101/2020.11.30.397489
• My Corporis Fabrica Embryo: An ontology-based 3D spatio-temporal modeling of human embryo development — Rabattu et al., Journal of Biomedical Semantics (2015). Cites VFB as the design precedent for linking an ontology to 3D images. doi:10.1186/s13326-015-0034-0
• Representation of anatomy in online atlases and databases: a survey and collection of patterns for interface design — Clarkson et al., BMC Developmental Biology (2016). Analyses VFB as an exemplar of linked term-and-graphic atlas design. doi:10.1186/s12861-016-0116-y
• PhenoImageShare: an image annotation and query infrastructure — Adebayo et al., Journal of Biomedical Semantics (2016). Lists VFB among the integrated image resources. doi:10.1186/s13326-016-0072-2
• The OWL Reasoner Evaluation (ORE) 2015 Competition Report — Parsia et al., Journal of Automated Reasoning (2017). Uses VFB ontologies as reasoner benchmark inputs. doi:10.1007/s10817-017-9406-8
• The Gene Ontology (GO) Cellular Component Ontology: integration with SAO (Subcellular Anatomy Ontology) and other recent developments — Roncaglia et al., Journal of Biomedical Semantics (2013). Cites VFB as the delivery vehicle for FBbt connectivity relations. doi:10.1186/2041-1480-4-20
• The Drosophila phenotype ontology — Osumi-Sutherland et al., Journal of Biomedical Semantics (2013). Notes VFB’s custom formalisations for representing neuroanatomy. doi:10.1186/2041-1480-4-30

Compiled from a literature sweep for mentions and citations of Virtual Fly Brain. Every DOI above was resolved and checked against its record. Preprints are shown as such; where a preprint has since been published, the published version is cited instead.