Figure 1.

Microtubule organization varies in the dendrites of different neuron types. (A) The dendrites of Drosophila body wall nociceptive class IV neurons contain a sparse microtubule organization (black arrowheads). (B) The dendrites of Drosophila body wall proprioceptive class I neuron contain dense arrays of microtubules (black arrowhead), which are interlinked by bridges (whited arrowheads). In addition, different modes of linkage between the neurons and the body wall also highlight their divergent functions. (C) Class IV neurons have dendrites embedded in the epithelial cells of the body wall.^82,83 (D) Class I dendrite microtubules are embedded in a dense matrix (green arrowheads), and attach to the surface of the epithelial cells by pads of electron dense material (red arrowheads). This specialized architecture in class I neurons is similar to that found in other cells active in mechanotransduction.^15,16,84,85 Pseudo-coloration in panels C-E: blue – dendrite; yellow – epithelial cell; uncolored – basement membrane. Scale bars: 0.2 μm.