Long-term activity drives dendritic branch elaboration of a C. elegans sensory neuron
| Autor: | Mario de Bono, Lotti Brose, Jesse Cohn, Elizabeth R. Cebul, Giulio Valperga, Maxwell G. Heiman, Jonathan T. Pierce |
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| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Nervous system
Aging Sensory Receptor Cells ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species Mutant Cell Plasticity Sensory system Dendritic branch Biology Nervous System 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine medicine Premovement neuronal activity Animals Anaerobiosis Model organism Caenorhabditis elegans Molecular Biology 030304 developmental biology 0303 health sciences ved/biology Cell Biology Dendrites Sensory neuron Oxygen medicine.anatomical_structure Neuron Neuroscience 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Developmental Biology |
| Zdroj: | Developmental biology. 461(1) |
| ISSN: | 1095-564X |
| Popis: | Neuronal activity often leads to alterations in gene expression and cellular architecture. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, owing to its compact translucent nervous system, is a powerful system in which to study conserved aspects of the development and plasticity of neuronal morphology. Here we focus on one pair of sensory neurons, termed URX, which the worm uses to sense and avoid high levels of environmental oxygen. Previous studies have reported that the URX neuron pair has variable branched endings at its dendritic sensory tip. By controlling oxygen levels and analyzing mutants, we found that these microtubule-rich branched endings grow over time as a consequence of neuronal activity in adulthood. We also find that the growth of these branches correlates with an increase in cellular sensitivity to particular ranges of oxygen that is observable in the behavior of older worms. Given the strengths of C. elegans as a model organism, URX may serve as a potent system for uncovering genes and mechanisms involved in activity-dependent morphological changes in neurons and possible adaptive changes in the aging nervous system. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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