Fig. 7

Laser damage to an active cell activates silent cells. a–f Presynaptic GCaMP6s signals from two representative neuromast organs before and after laser damage. b, e Presynaptic Ca²⁺ signals during a 2-s step stimulus (anterior and posterior responses are merged in the profile) prior to laser damage. Spatial patterns of GCaMP6s Ca²⁺ signals during stimulation are colorized according to the ∆F/F heat map and superimposed onto baseline GCaMP6s images (a, d). c, f Presynaptic Ca²⁺ signals after high power laser-induced damage to one active cell in each neuromast (green lightning bolt, cell 1 in b and e). After laser damage, the damaged cell (cell 1) no longer displays a detectable presynaptic Ca²⁺ signal, but new cells now display robust presynaptic Ca²⁺ signals (cell 2 in c and cells 2–4 in f). Scale bars = 5 μm