Figure 3

Comparison of the ability of N2 and mnm-4 worms to ingest fluorescent beads. (A) Overlays of a DIC image and an epifluorescence image of the fluorescent beads present in the pharynx following a feeding period of 30 minutes. Number of beads counted in the pharynx: 64.6 ± 9.3 for N2, and 78.1 ± 11.4 (n = 19), indicating a similar steady-state number of beads in the two genotypes; (B) Overlays of a DIC image and an epifluorescence image of thefluorescent beads in the intestine swallowed during a brief 2 min period. Number of beads in the intestine: 27.1 ± 7.4 for N2, and 30.8 ± 7.7 (n = 35), indicating a similar transfer rate of beads from the pharynx to the intestine in the two genotypes. L4 larvae and adults are shown in (A) and (B), respectively.; (C) Electropharyngeograms in wild-type and mnm-4 one day-old adults. Labels in the wild-type recording indicate pharyngeal behaviours that are reflected by the electropharyngeogram, and are based on published studies [13,14]. ct: corpus and terminal bulb contraction; M3: M3 neuron-dependent negative spikes (only the first spike is labeled), c: corpus relaxation; t:terminal bulb relaxation. All the expected activity signals are present in the appropriate proportions in the mnm-4 mutant, and the slight differences between the two recordings are well within the variation exhibited by both genotypes.