Dynamic interactions between nerve and muscle in Caenorhabditis elegans

Developmental Biology
J A PlunkettW W Walthall

Abstract

Synaptogenesis among developing motoneurons and muscles was examined in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. In this animal embryonic precursor cells give rise to regionally localized, contiguous clones of muscle cells that form two dorsal and two ventral sets that run longitudinally along the body wall. Ablation of selected embryonic muscle precursors resulted in gaps in the posterior dorsal muscle quadrants. We compared the morphological development of GABAergic locomotory neurons in the presence and absence of their target muscle cells. The results led to four main conclusions: (1) target muscle cells are not required for the morphological differentiation of the motoneurons; (2) target muscle cells appear to be required for the formation of presynaptic varicosities by the motoneurons; (3) embryonic muscle cells serve as a guide for migrating postembryonic muscle cells and in the absence of these guides the postembryonic muscles often assume ectopic locations; and (4) in the presence of ectopic muscle cells, the GABAergic locomotory neurons sprouted and formed branches that contributed to ectopic neuromuscular junctions.

Citations

Dec 16, 2004·Development Genes and Evolution·Albert CardonaRafael Romero
Jan 17, 2008·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Nicholas C Spitzer, Laura N Borodinsky
Dec 28, 2006·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Laura N Borodinsky, Nicholas C Spitzer
Feb 28, 2003·Journal of Neurobiology·Sarah Ritzenthaler, Akira Chiba
Sep 24, 2004·Physiological Reviews·Popi Syntichaki, Nektarios Tavernarakis
Jul 26, 2008·Developmental Biology·Ge Shan, W W Walthall

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Brain developing: Influences & Outcomes

This feed focuses on influences that affect the developing brain including genetics, fetal development, prenatal care, and gene-environment interactions. Here is the latest research in this field.

Related Papers

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Giorgio BrunelliMarina Pizzi
The European Journal of Neuroscience
Christian HennebergerRosemarie Grantyn
The Journal of Physiology
Csaba FöldyIvan Soltesz
Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics
R Reyes, E Jaimovich
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved