Genetic dissection of short-term and long-term facilitation at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction.

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Abstract
Transmitter release at the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction may be increased by previous activity of the nerve. This facilitation phenomenon involves at least two processes, one short-term and other long-term. These are shown to based on different mechanisms because (i) a mutant was found that had abnormal long-term facilitation but normal short-term facilitation; and (ii) long-term facilitation was eliminated by tetrodotoxin or by removing external Na+ but short-term facilitation was not. In long-term facilitation, there was a prolonged release of transmitter due to a prolonged Ca2+ sensitivity of the presynaptic terminal after each nerve stimulus. The cause of this is probably accumulation of Na+ inside the nerve terminal.