Figure 1
Precision measurements of body length enable automated measurements of the DMP.
(a) Left: a continuous 10-hour record of the body-length of a single animal from the mid L4int stage, through L4leth, to the early YA stage. Light colored line depicts a running window average. Right: an enlarged view of 2 minutes of data demonstrates that the 4–6% fluctuations in the data do not originate from measurement noise, but rather correspond to changes in the body length as a result of the pBocs and aBocs. Measurements of the durations of the DMP cycle and epochs between Bocs are illustrated in blue and red, respectively. (b) The average body-length during the defecation cycle, aligned at the trough of the pBoc, of wild-type late L4 larvae. Left and right panels depict the mean body length (averaged over all animals assayed) of double- and single-trough events, respectively. (c) The rates at which one, two, or more body contractions were identified within a 10 sec window. (d) Left: the distribution of periods between successive DMP cycles. Right: the mean periods between defecation cycles during different developmental times. Before and after L4 lethargus the period of the cycle was elongated. (e) Left: the distribution of durations of epochs between body contractions within a DMP cycle. Right: the inter-Boc epoch did not change just prior to or after L4 lethargus. In all panels N = 28 animals and error bars or thin lines depict ± s.e.m. Double asterisks denote p < 0.01.
