Figure 3.
Assessment of the spatial scale of neuropeptide signaling
(A) Anatomical overview of the C. elegans hermaphrodite nervous system. Neuronal bundles are represented in red and the pharynx in green.
(B) Details of assessed diffusion models. Contact interactions are defined as occurring between neurons with processes in the same nerve ring stratum72,73 or small process bundle. Short-range connections include interactions within the same neuronal bundle. Mid-range connections occur between different bundles within the same body region, i.e., head, midbody, or tail. Long-range connections are between neurons in different body regions.
(C) Expression matrix for 23 GPCRs, activated by a single ligand that activates no other receptor.66 Columns indicate neurons, sorted by type; each row indicates a GPCR. Colors indicate the diffusion range required for communication with at least one ligand-expressing neuron: blue indicates contact interactions within a nerve ring stratum (dark blue) or a thin neuronal bundle (light blue); mustard indicates short-range connections between nerve-ring strata; red indicates mid-range connections between neurons in different bundles.
(D) Expression matrix for the 23 cognate neuropeptide precursor genes for the receptors in (C). Neurons are sorted by type on the x axis; neuropeptide genes are on the y axis. Colors indicate the diffusion range required for communication with a receptor-expressing neuron, as described above. GPCR and NPP identities are included in Figure S2.