TY  - GEN
T1  - Minimum number of synaptic vesicles for the initiation of a single action potential at C. elegans neuromuscular junction
AU  - Chen, Lili
AU  - Wang, Ya
AU  - Gao, Shangbang
DO  - 10.17912/micropub.biology.000316
UR  - http://beta.micropublication.org/journals/biology/micropub-biology-000316/
AB  - The action potential (AP) is the basic signaling unit in various crucial physiological processing, for instance, in neurotransmission, muscle contraction, and glandular secretion (Koch, 1990). The classic model animal, Caenorhabditis elegans (or C. elegans), with a simple and compact nervous system, conservatively employs the calcium-mediated all-or-none APs for odor response in AWA olfactory neurons (Liu et al., 2018), as well as for muscle contraction in body wall muscles (Gao and Zhen, 2011; Liu et al., 2011) and pharyngeal muscles (Davis et al., 1999). Plateau potentials were also observed in ASE and RMD neurons (Goodman et al., 1998; Mellem et al., 2008; Lockery et al., 2009; Lockery and Goodman, 2009), though the underlying roles in specific behavior are still elusive. Either in neurons or in muscles, the action potential firing is dependent on the excitatory pre-synaptic vesicles release. The minimum number of the presynaptic vesicles to elicit a single action potential in C. elegans has not been reported before. Here, by the combination of optogenetics with in-vivo patch clamping technology, we demonstrated that at least approximately 37 excitatory acetylcholinergic vesicles are required for the initiation of an action potential at post-synaptic body wall muscles.
PY  - 2020
JO  - microPublication Biology
ER  -