AI Article Synopsis
- Researchers have identified a specialized neuron, RID, that plays a crucial role in modulating motor circuit dynamics during movement.
- RID, influenced by the transcription factor UNC-39, has unique features that indicate it's an endocrine neuron and releases neuropeptides like FLP-14.
- Manipulating RID's activity affects the ability to sustain forward movement, showcasing its importance in maintaining specific behaviors.
Article Abstract
Neuromodulators shape neural circuit dynamics. Combining electron microscopy, genetics, transcriptome profiling, calcium imaging, and optogenetics, we discovered a peptidergic neuron that modulates motor circuit dynamics. The Six/SO-family homeobox transcription factor UNC-39 governs lineage-specific neurogenesis to give rise to a neuron RID. RID bears the anatomic hallmarks of a specialized endocrine neuron: it harbors near-exclusive dense core vesicles that cluster periodically along the axon, and expresses multiple neuropeptides, including the FMRF-amide-related FLP-14. RID activity increases during forward movement. Ablating RID reduces the sustainability of forward movement, a phenotype partially recapitulated by removing FLP-14. Optogenetic depolarization of RID prolongs forward movement, an effect reduced in the absence of FLP-14. Together, these results establish the role of a neuroendocrine cell RID in sustaining a specific behavioral state in .
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5120884 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19887 | DOI Listing |
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