Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
    • Special Collections
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
    • Editorial Board
    • ECR Advisory Board
    • Journal Staff
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
    • Accessibility
  • SUBSCRIBE

User menu

  • Log out
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Neuroscience
  • Log out
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Neuroscience

Advanced Search

Submit a Manuscript
  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
    • Special Collections
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
    • Editorial Board
    • ECR Advisory Board
    • Journal Staff
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
    • Accessibility
  • SUBSCRIBE
PreviousNext
Articles

Reversal of a muscle response to GABA during C. elegans male development

DJ Reiner and JH Thomas
Journal of Neuroscience 1 September 1995, 15 (9) 6094-6102; https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.15-09-06094.1995
DJ Reiner
Department of Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
JH Thomas
Department of Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

In the C. elegans hermaphrodite the expulsion step of defecation depends on the coordinated contraction of three enteric muscle groups: the anal depressor muscle, the intestinal muscles, and the sphincter muscle. These muscles are activated by excitatory GABA neurotransmission. Mutations in 13 genes that affect activation of these enteric muscles have previously been identified. We show that the larval male defecates by contracting the same set of enteric muscles, and that these contractions require 12 of these 13 genes. However, near the end of the last larval stage, the male anal region undergoes a developmental change, including dramatic hypertrophy of the anal sphincter muscle and the opening of a cloacal canal. We find that this modified sphincter must now relax to permit defecation. In contrast to the larval male, we find that in the adult male only 2 of the 13 genes required for enteric muscle contraction, unc-25 and unc-47, are important for sphincter muscle relaxation. unc-25 and unc-47 are required for the synthesis and utilization of GABA. We also find that two other genes, unc-46 and unc-49, previously implicated in the inhibitory action of GABA on body-wall muscle, are also required for normal adult male sphincter relaxation. In these mutants, failure to relax the sphincter muscle results in a constipated phenotype, and killing the sphincter muscle rescues this phenotype. We also find that a GABA agonist or GABA itself can suppress the adult male sphincter relaxation defect of unc-25 mutants.

Back to top

In this issue

The Journal of Neuroscience: 15 (9)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 15, Issue 9
1 Sep 1995
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
Email

Thank you for sharing this Journal of Neuroscience article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Reversal of a muscle response to GABA during C. elegans male development
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Journal of Neuroscience
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Journal of Neuroscience.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
View Full Page PDF
Citation Tools
Reversal of a muscle response to GABA during C. elegans male development
DJ Reiner, JH Thomas
Journal of Neuroscience 1 September 1995, 15 (9) 6094-6102; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.15-09-06094.1995

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Request Permissions
Share
Reversal of a muscle response to GABA during C. elegans male development
DJ Reiner, JH Thomas
Journal of Neuroscience 1 September 1995, 15 (9) 6094-6102; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.15-09-06094.1995
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Responses to this article

Respond to this article

Jump to comment:

No eLetters have been published for this article.

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Memory Retrieval Has a Dynamic Influence on the Maintenance Mechanisms That Are Sensitive to ζ-Inhibitory Peptide (ZIP)
  • Neurophysiological Evidence for a Cortical Contribution to the Wakefulness-Related Drive to Breathe Explaining Hypocapnia-Resistant Ventilation in Humans
  • Monomeric Alpha-Synuclein Exerts a Physiological Role on Brain ATP Synthase
Show more Articles
  • Home
  • Alerts
  • Follow SFN on BlueSky
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Facebook
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on Twitter
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on LinkedIn
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Youtube
  • Follow our RSS feeds

Content

  • Early Release
  • Current Issue
  • Issue Archive
  • Collections

Information

  • For Authors
  • For Advertisers
  • For the Media
  • For Subscribers

About

  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Privacy Notice
  • Contact
  • Accessibility
(JNeurosci logo)
(SfN logo)

Copyright © 2025 by the Society for Neuroscience.
JNeurosci Online ISSN: 1529-2401

The ideas and opinions expressed in JNeurosci do not necessarily reflect those of SfN or the JNeurosci Editorial Board. Publication of an advertisement or other product mention in JNeurosci should not be construed as an endorsement of the manufacturer’s claims. SfN does not assume any responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from or related to any use of any material contained in JNeurosci.