Figure 11.

Morphology of nociceptive neuron dendritic fields of larvae in which BMP components were manipulated compared with that of normal larvae. Morphological parameters measured were the total number of dendritic branches (A) and total dendritic length (B). Larvae in which Dpp was suppressed in nociceptive neurons by IR-triggered RNAi exhibited no significant differences in dendritic branching compared with control genotype Ppk1.9-Gal4>y¹v¹, nor did larvae in which Tkv or Sax were similarly suppressed. Nociceptive neuron branching was increased in larvae in which Put (p < 0.007), Mad (p < 0.022), or Med (p < 0.04) was suppressed (A), but no RNAi manipulation significantly altered overall dendritic length (B). Overexpression of Dpp in the nociceptive neurons (A,B, rightmost bar) significantly decreased dendritic branching (p < 0.025) and dendritic length (p < 0.04), compared with control genotype Ppk1.9-Gal4>w¹¹¹⁸. Skeletons were constructed in Fiji, and total dendritic length and total number of branches were calculated. Data were analyzed using Welch's t test. n = 18–30. *p = 0.05–0.01. **p < 0.01–0.001.