Wang et al. 2024
A neurotransmitter atlas of C. elegans males and hermaphrodites
Chen Wang, Berta Vidal, Surojit Sural, Curtis Loer, G Robert Aguilar, Daniel M Merritt, Itai Antoine Toker, Merly C Vogt, Cyril Cros, Oliver Hobert
eLife 13:RP95402
Published: October 18, 2024
Datasets incorporated
Summary
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The study presents the most extensive and accurate neurotransmitter atlas of C. elegans to date, using CRISPR/Cas9-engineered fluorescent knock-in reporter alleles for 16 key neurotransmitter-related genes across both hermaphrodite and male nervous systems.
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Many neurons were found to express more than one neurotransmitter system, indicating that co-transmission is far more widespread than previously recognized and challenging the traditional one neuron–one transmitter model.
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The researchers identified numerous previously unrecognized sites of neurotransmitter gene expression, not only in additional neurons but also in non-neuronal cells such as glia and gonadal cells, suggesting broader roles for neurotransmitter signalling.
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The study revealed substantial sexual dimorphism in neurotransmitter expression, including sex-specific usage in male-specific neurons and differential expression patterns in shared neurons, highlighting how neurotransmitter deployment contributes to sexually distinct neural function.