# Physical presence of chemical synapses is necessary for turning behavior of anterograde synaptic vesicles at the branch point of PLM neurons in C. elegans

## TL;DR

This study shows that the physical presence of synapses is needed for synaptic vesicles to turn at branch points in C. elegans neurons.

## Contribution

The study reveals that synaptic connections are essential for branch-specific transport of synaptic vesicles in neurons.

## Key findings

- Synaptic vesicle transport at branch points depends on the presence of synapses.
- Removing synaptic connections reduces branch-specific transport in PLM neurons.
- This finding highlights the role of synapses in regulating cargo distribution in neurons.

## Abstract

Neurons exhibit complex branched axonal morphologies in both vertebrate and invertebrate systems, and show heterogeneity in the distribution of synaptic cargo across multiple synapses. It is possible that differences in transport across multiple branches contribute to the heterogeneity in cargo distribution across multiple synapses. However, the regulation of transport at axonal branch points is not well understood. We demonstrate that branch-specific transport of synaptic vesicles is dependent on the existence of a connection between the branch and synapses. The loss of this connection causes an immediate decrease in branch-specific transport of synaptic vesicles in the PLM neuron of
C. elegans
.