Fig. 1.

Ribbons in mechanosensory lateral line hair cells. (A) Transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of a typical spherical ribbon (R) in a mechanosensory hair cell (HC) from a lateral line neuromast in zebrafish. Ribbons are electron-dense structures, anchored to the presynaptic membrane, that tether synaptic vesicles (SV) at synapses with afferent fibers (AF). Vesicles ready to be docked are at the membrane facing the post-synaptic membrane density. (B) At different stages during development, from 2–5 days post fertilization (dpf), ribbons at the synapse measure ∼300 nm in diameter. A one-way ANOVA shows no significant difference (R²=0.2552, P=0.7560); a Tukey's multiple-comparison test shows a significant difference only between day 3 and 4 ribbons (*P<0.05). Results are mean±s.e.m.