Biology subjects

Xu Ying, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Xu Ying, B..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Simultaneous whole-cell recording and calcium imaging to reveal electrically coupled neurons in Xenopus tadpoles

Neuronal populations connected by gap junctions can be revealed via dye coupling of small molecules like neurobiotin and lucifer yellow. However, the extent of dye diffusion between neurons varies with connexin subtype, loading method, and neuromodulation. Due to the increasing availability of GCaMP transgenic animals, we explore the possibility of revealing gap junctional coupling using Ca2+ imaging in the Xenopus laevis tadpole motor system. Reliable axo-axonal electrical coupling was previously found in excitatory descending interneurons (dINs) using paired recordings but not with neurobiotin dye coupling. Here, we made whole-cell patch-clamp recordings with Ca2+-supplemented intracellular solution to load Ca2+ into GCaMP6s-expressing neurons, followed by Ca2+ imaging to detect potential Ca2+ diffusion across coupled neurons. Successful membrane breakthroughs led to transient fluorescence increases in the patched neuron. However, increasing the Ca2+ concentration promoted membrane resealing and rapid loss of whole-cell recordings. Regardless of recording duration, loading-triggered fluorescence only lasted up to three minutes, suggesting rapid Ca2+ clearance. Pharmacologically blocking sarcoplasmic /endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPases and plasma membrane Na+/Ca2+ exchangers did not prolong fluorescence, although sustained fluorescence was achieved with positive current injections. Counter to our expectations, fluorescence increases in Ca2+-loaded dINs did not spread to neighboring dINs. Robust intracellular Ca2+ regulation mechanisms, membrane resealing, and long dIN axons likely hindered intercellular Ca2+ diffusion. Therefore, this approach is not appropriate for revealing electrical coupling within this system.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Context-dependent coordination of movement in Tribolium castaneum larvae

Insect pests, like the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, destroy up to 20% of stored grain products worldwide, making them a significant threat to food security. Their success hinges upon adapting their movements to unpredictable, heterogeneous environments like flour. Tribolium is well developed as a genetic model system; however, little is known about their natural locomotion and how their nervous systems coordinate adaptive movement. Here, we employed videographic whole-animal and leg tracking to assess how Tribolium larvae locomote over different substrates and analyze their gait kinematics across speeds. Unlike many hexapods, larvae employed a bilaterally symmetric, posterior-to-anterior wave gait during fast locomotion. At slower speeds, coordination within thoracic segments was disrupted, although intersegmental coordination remained intact. Moreover, larvae used terminal abdominal structures (pygopods) to support challenging movements, such as climbing overhangs. Pygopod placement coincided with leg swing initiation, suggesting a stabilizing role as adaptive anchoring devices. Surgically lesioning the connective between thoracic and abdominal ganglia impaired pygopod engagement and led to escalating impairments in flat-terrain locomotion, climbing and tunnelling. These results suggest that effective movement in Tribolium larvae requires thoracic-abdominal coordination, and that larval gait and limb recruitment is context-dependent. Our work provides the first kinematic analysis of Tribolium larval locomotion and gives insights into its neural control, creating a foundation for future motor control research in a genetically tractable beetle that jeopardizes global food security. Summary statementRed flour beetle larvae walk with a legged wave gait and use their tails as anchors to climb inclines and tunnel into flour.

neuroscience↗