Type: Sensory neuron
Connectivity:
- In MoW: PDE
- In WormWiring: PDEL_h, PDER_h
- In Nemanode: PDE
In Wormbase: PDEL, PDER
Lineage: V5L.paaa, V5R.paaa
Location: Posterior half of the body
Description: Postembryonically born. Posterior deirid neurons. Function as sensory receptors located next to dorsal body wall muscle along the lateral side of the posterior body.
Neurotransmitter/ Neuropeptide:
- Dopamine
- Glutamate
(Wang et al., 2024; Lints and Emmons, 1999)

Innexin expression:
- INX-1a
- INX-1b
- INX-5
- INX-10a
- UNC-7
- UNC-9
(Bhattacharya et al., 2019)
Receptor expression:
- DOP-2
(Suo et al., 2003)
Function:
- When well-fed C. elegans hermaphrodites are washed clean of bacteria and then reintroduced to the bacterial lawn, they move more slowly than when transferred to an environment without bacteria. This behavior is described as "basal slowing response". The three classes of dopaminergic neurons (CEPs, ADEs, and PDEs) function redundantly to sense the mechanosensory stimulus from bacteria and mediate the motor circuit to control this behavioral change (Sawin et al., 2000).
Reporters:
- At CGC: OH7193 otIs181 [dat-1::mCherry + ttx-3::mCherry]
- Other: