The HSN egg-laying command neurons regulate the defecation motor program in Caenorhabditis elegans: Integration

摘要

( ) Wiring diagrams of the reproductive circuit (top) and defecation motor circuit (bottom). HSN (green) and VC (blue) neurons synapse onto each other and the vm2 muscles for egg laying. Data from White J.G. et al. (1986) indicate HSN and VC also make and receive synapses from AVL and DVB, excitatory GABA motor neurons that regulate the contraction of the enteric muscles (em) for defecation. Arrows indicate chemical synapses, and + or – indicates a presumptive excitatory or inhibitory synapse, respectively. Bar-headed lines indicate gap junctions (e.g. electrical synapses). Model summarizing a mass and pressure balance for . Bacterial food is consumed through the pharynx and used for worm growth. Waste is expelled via defecation through the anus, while animal reproduction occurs through embryo release through the vulva. Fluid homeostasis is maintained via the excretory pore. Also listed are measurements of size (Bolanowski 1981), internal pressure (Gilpin 2015), and estimated volumes of expulsion events and their frequency.