%0 Journal Article %J Cell Reports %D 2013 %T Femtosecond Laser Ablation Reveals Antagonistic Sensory and Neuroendocrine Signaling that Underlie C. elegans Behavior and Development %A S. H. Chung %A A. Schmalz %A R. Clarissa Ruiz %A C. V. Gabel %A Mazur, E. %X The specific roles of neuronal subcellular compo- nents in behavior and development remain largely unknown, even though advances in molecular biology and conventional whole-cell laser ablation have greatly accelerated the identification of contrib- utors at the molecular and cellular levels. We system- atically applied femtosecond laser ablation, which has submicrometer resolution in vivo, to dissect the cell bodies, dendrites, or axons of a sensory neuron (ASJ) in Caenorhabditis elegans to determine their roles in modulating locomotion and the develop- mental decisions for dauer, a facultative, stress- resistant life stage. Our results indicate that the cell body sends out axonally mediated and hormonal sig- nals in order to mediate these functions. Further- more, our results suggest that antagonistic sensory dendritic signals primarily drive and switch polarity between the decisions to enter and exit dauer. Thus, the improved resolution of femtosecond laser ablation reveals a rich complexity of neuronal signaling at the subcellular level, including multiple neurite and hormonally mediated pathways depen- dent on life stage. %B Cell Reports %V 4 %P 316–326 %G eng %U /files/mazur/files/rep_712.pdf %R 10.1016/j.celrep.2013.06.027