ArticleCurrent biology : CB2016
High-Probability Neurotransmitter Release Sites Represent an Energy-Efficient Design.
Article in Current biology : CB, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
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- An unexpected specialization of the active zone scaffold RIM at high release synapses.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
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- Bichromatic Exon-Reporters Reveal Voltage-Gated CaeNeuro · 2025Article
- Building and modifying diverse synaptic properties: Insights from Drosophila.Current opinion in neurobiology · 2025Review
- Distinct input-specific mechanisms enable presynaptic homeostatic plasticity.Science advances · 2025Article
- Type-specific molecular signaling architectures and synaptic plasticity ofFrontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2025Article
- Ultrastructural Analysis Reveals Mitochondrial Placement Independent of Synapse Placement in Fine Caliber C. elegans Neurons.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2024Article
- CaeLife · 2024Article
- Distinct input-specific mechanisms enable presynaptic homeostatic plasticity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- A Reduction in the Readily Releasable Vesicle Pool Impairs GABAergic Inhibition in the Hippocampus after Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- CabioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Mitochondrial phosphagen kinases support the volatile power demands of motor nerve terminals.The Journal of physiology · 2023Article
- Pathophysiology of Cerebellar Degeneration in Mitochondrial Disorders: Insights from theInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Physiologic and Nanoscale Distinctions Define Glutamatergic Synapses in Tonic vs Phasic Neurons.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2023Article
- Molecular Logic of Synaptic Diversity BetweenbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
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- Presynaptic Mitochondrial Volume and Packing Density Scale with Presynaptic Power Demand.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Nerve terminals contain multiple sites specialized for the release of neurotransmitters. Release usually occurs with low probability, a design thought to confer many advantages. High-probability release sites are not uncommon, but their advantages are not well understood. Here, we test the hypothesis that high-probability release sites represent an energy-efficient design. We examined release site probabilities and energy efficiency at the terminals of two glutamatergic motor neurons synapsing on the same muscle fiber in Drosophila larvae. Through electrophysiological and ultrastructural measurements, we calculated release site probabilities to differ considerably between terminals (0.33 versus 0.11). We estimated the energy required to release and recycle glutamate from the same measurements. The energy required to remove calcium and sodium ions subsequent to nerve excitation was estimated through microfluorimetric and morphological measurements. We calculated energy efficiency as the number of glutamate molecules released per ATP molecule hydrolyzed, and high-probability release site terminals were found to be more efficient (0.13 versus 0.06). Our analytical model indicates that energy efficiency is optimal (∼0.15) at high release site probabilities (∼0.76). As limitations in energy supply constrain neural function, high-probability release sites might ameliorate such constraints by demanding less energy. Energy efficiency can be viewed as one aspect of nerve terminal function, in balance with others, because high-efficiency terminals depress significantly during episodic bursts of activity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.