Extrinsic repair of injured dendrites as a paradigm for regeneration by fusion

摘要: Injury triggers regeneration of axons and dendrites. Research identified factors required for axonal outside the CNS, but little is known about triggered by dendrotomy. Here we study neuronal plasticity dendrotomy determine fate complex PVD arbors following laser surgery We find that severed primary dendrites grow towards each other reconnect via branch fusion. Simultaneously, terminal branches lose self-avoidance other, meeting fusing at tips an AFF-1-mediated process. Ectopic growth as a step in process bypassing lesion site. Failure reconnection to results degeneration distal end neuron. discover pruning excess EFF-1 acts recover original wild-type arborization pattern cell-autonomous In contrast, AFF-1 activity during dendritic auto-fusion derived from lateral seam cells not autonomously propose model which AFF-1-vesicles epidermal fuse without. Thus, fusion proteins emerge new players maintenance arbor connectivity injury C. elegans. Our demonstrate there genetically determined multi-step pathway repair broken act on different steps pathway. Intrinsic essential after extrinsic mediates dendrite bypass injuries.