Figure 4. Expression and distribution of
mod-5/SERT. a, The structure of
mod-5 GFP reporters. Intron (line)/exon (bar) structure of the
mod-5 gene is adapted from Ranganathan et al. (2001). The structure of
mod-5 GFP reporters is schematically depicted. b, Pmod-5::gfp(A) expression in WT animals. Photomicrograph shows GFP expression in ADF, RIH, and AIM neurons, as well as in nonserotonergic cell
g2, in a merged image of Nomarski microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. c, Pmod-5::gfp(B) expression in WT animals. Photomicrograph shows merging of green fluorescence of the transgene and red fluorescence of DiI staining of the amphid chemosensory neurons, indicating GFP expression in NSM, as well as in ADF, RIH, and AIM neurons. d-f, MOD-5 immunostaining of WT and
mod-5 mutants. d, In WT animals, MOD-5/SERT immunoreactivity was evenly distributed in AIM soma and axon, but it appeared to be enriched in axons in NSM neurons. e, No staining was detected in any neuron in
mod-5(
n822) opal mutant (data not shown), although rare and very faint staining of NSM axons (indicated by a thin arrow) was observed in the
mod-5(
n3114) mutant. f, The AN::
mod-5 transgene restored MOD-5 immunoreactivity in AIM neurons, as well as in several ectopic cells (indicated by a thick arrow), but not in NSM in
mod-5 mutants. NR, Nerve ring. g, h, Distribution of GFP-tagged CAT-1/VMAT in WT animals. CAT-1::GFP showed punctate pattern in the soma and processes in NSM, ADF, and HSN, as well as in dopaminergic neurons including PDE. Notice that the pattern of CAT-1::GFP overlaps with MOD-5 immunoreactivity in NSM, but not in ADF neurons. All the animals shown were adults with anterior to the left.