Fig. 6. Myosin Va is required for efficient retrograde transport in living MNs. (A) In rat MNs myosin Va shows an abundant punctate distribution and co-localises with TeNT HC-Alexa 488 carriers (B, arrowheads). (C) Merged image of A and B. (D,E) Time-lapse imaging of TeNT HC-Alexa 488 retrograde carriers (arrowheads, asterisks) in an axon of a wild-type (D) or a dilute lethal (E) mouse MN. Intervals between frames are 5 seconds. The cell body is located at the bottom in both D and E. Bars, 5 µm. See video 4. (F) Relative frequencies of speed values measured between two consecutive frames (interval = 5 seconds) for TeNT HC carriers in wild-type MNs (193 carriers, filled circles; three embryos) and dilute lethal MNs (91 carriers, empty circles; two embryos). Wild-type and dilute lethal embryos are derived from the same litter. Retrograde movement is conventionally shown as positive. (G) In mouse MNs, the speed distribution profile of TeNT HC is best described by the sum of three Gaussian curves centred at 0, 0.53 and 0.95 µm/second. A decrease of the fast component and an increase of pauses are observed in dilute lethal MNs (white bars), whereas the intermediate component remains unaltered relative to wild-type cells (black bars). Data are derived from the analysis of 357 carriers from five wild-type embryos and 141 carriers from three dilute lethal embryos. Error bars indicate mean ± s.e.m.