Figure 1.

Aged worms develop new neurite branches. A, A representative fluorescent image of a day 1 adult Pmec-4::GFP animal with structurally intact touch neurons. In all images, the tail of the animal is to the right. B, A representative fluorescent image of a day 15 adult Pmec-4::GFP animal with extra neurite branches. Bottom, Higher magnification of boxed area; the arrow highlights the ectopic neurite branches. C, A representative fluorescent image of a day 15 adult Pmec-4::GFP animal exhibiting morphologically intact neurons. D, Neurite branching increases during aging. Pmec-4::GFP animals were evaluated at each time point for the presence of extra neuronal processes in any one of the six touch neurons. The error bars represent the SD. n ≥ 3 experiments (χ² test compared with day 1, *p < 0.01, ***p < 0.0001). E, A representative fluorescent image of GABAergic neurons in a day 1 adult Punc-47::GFP animal with normal commissures. F, A representative fluorescent image of a day 15 adult Punc-47::GFP animal with an extra neurite branch emanating from the commissure (arrow). G, A representative fluorescent image of a day 15 adult Punc-47::GFP animal exhibiting normal commissures (arrowheads). H, Neurite branches increase in GABAergic neurons during aging. Punc-47::GFP animals were evaluated at each time point for the presence of extra neuronal processes in commissures. n ≥ 2 experiments. (χ² test compared with day 1, **p < 0.001, ***p < 0.0001).