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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Nov 26.
Published in final edited form as: Neuron. 2011 May 26;70(4):742–757. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.04.002

Figure 1. CYY-1 and CDK-5 Are Required for Synaptic Remodeling in DDs.

Figure 1

(A) Wild-type animals expressing GFP::RAB-3 in DD motoneurons (wyIs202) at the stages of L1 (A1) and L4 or young adult (A2). cyy-1 and cdk-5 single-mutants show incomplete elimination of ventral GFP::RAB-3 puncta at the stages of L4 or young adult (A4 and A6). In cyy-1 cdk-5 double-mutant, most of GFP::RAB-3 puncta are in the ventral processes (A8). All the single- and double-mutants exhibit wild-type localization of GFP::RAB-3 on the ventral side at the stage of L1 (A3, A5, and A7). Schematic diagrams showing phenotypes are shown above and below each image. Green dots, GFP::RAB-3; red lines, DD ventral and dorsal processes and commissures; red ovals, DD cell bodies; D, dorsal processes; V, ventral processes. Magnified images are shown for representative regions (white dotted boxes) of dorsal (D) and ventral (V) processes. Scale bars, 20 µm. See also Figures S2 and S3.

(B) Ventral GFP::RAB-3 puncta of DD neurons in cyy-1 cdk-5 double-mutants colocalize with an active zone protein SYD-2/Liprin-α. Wild-type or cyy-1 cdk-5 double-mutant animals coexpressing GFP::RAB-3 and mCHERRY::SYD-2 in DD motoneurons (wyEx3650) were imaged at the stages of L4 or young adult. Representative regions (white dotted boxes) are magnified on the right side. Scale bars, 20 and 10 µm for low and high magnification images, respectively.

(C) Dorsal synapses of DD neurons in cyy-1 cdk-5 double-mutants are defective at the stage of young adult. Representative EM images of varicosities of DD in wild-type (upper) or cyy-1 cdk-5 double-mutant animals (lower). Arrows, active zones.

(D and E) Average density of synaptic vesicles (SVs) in each varicosity (D) and the percentage of varicosities with active zones (E) were quantified. Error bars, standard error. Number of varicosities = 5 and 6 for wild-type and cyy-1 cdk-5 double-mutant worms, respectively. * p < 0.05, t-test; **p < 0.0001, χ2 test.