The technique is so precise that it can be used to monitor these interactions in single dendritic spines, the tiny finger-like projections on nerve cell branches at which signalling takes place.
The bipolar neurons that respond to light slowly preferentially connect to the starburst amacrine cell branches nearest the centre, whereas those that respond quickly form their connections further away.
Indeed, the field causes severe distortion in the cellular array and enhances cell branching.
In contrast, P81nmt1-pom1 cells did not show any cell branching even 25 hours after uracil addition, consistent with weaker pom1 expression than in Purg1-pom1 cells.
Taking these data together, we would predict that Pom1p can promote cell branching when overexpressed in G2-phase but not when overexpressed in G1-phase.
We exploited the urg1 promoter system to rapidly induce pom1 expression at defined cell-cycle stages, showing that ectopic pom1 expression leads to cell branching in G2-phase but much less so in G1-phase.
Instead, it resulted from reduced tracheal terminal cell branching.
The transplanted cells developed a spindle-shaped pattern with cell branches within a few days.
Moreover, the trichome cell branches were 12.5% longer in KO but 44% shorter in OE compared with WT.
As in the case of dietary or PI3K manipulations, reduced coverage resulted from reduced tracheal terminal cell branching.
Aortic rings stimulated with CM from Y477F mutant-expressing cells displayed significant reduction in endothelial cell branching in comparison to AC2M2 cells expressing the pCB6 empty vector.
