Selective replenishment of two vesicle pools depends on the source of Ca2+ at the Drosophila synapse.

After synaptic vesicles (SVs) undergo exocytosis, SV pools are replenished by recycling SVs at nerve terminals. At Drosophila neuromuscular synapses, there are two distinct SV pools (i.e., the exo/endo cycling pool (ECP), which primarily maintains synaptic transmission, and the reserve pool (RP), which participates in synaptic transmission only during tetanic stimulation). Labeling endocytosed vesicular structures with a fluorescent styryl dye, FM1-43, and measuring intracellular Ca2+ concentrations with a Ca2+ indicator, rhod-2, we show here that the ECP is replenished by SVs endocytosed during stimulation, and this process depends on external Ca2+. In contrast, the RP is refilled after cessation of tetanus by a process mediated by Ca2+ released from internal stores.