PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Walker, Richard G.
AU  - Willingham, Aarron T.
AU  - Zuker, Charles S.
TI  - A <em>Drosophila</em> Mechanosensory Transduction Channel
AID  - 10.1126/science.287.5461.2229
DP  - 2000 Mar 24
TA  - Science
PG  - 2229--2234
VI  - 287
IP  - 5461
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/287/5461/2229.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/287/5461/2229.full
SO  - Science2000 Mar 24; 287
AB  - Mechanosensory transduction underlies a wide range of senses, including proprioception, touch, balance, and hearing. The pivotal element of these senses is a mechanically gated ion channel that transduces sound, pressure, or movement into changes in excitability of specialized sensory cells. Despite the prevalence of mechanosensory systems, little is known about the molecular nature of the transduction channels. To identify such a channel, we analyzedDrosophila melanogaster mechanoreceptive mutants for defects in mechanosensory physiology. Loss-of-function mutations in theno mechanoreceptor potential C (nompC) gene virtually abolished mechanosensory signaling. nompC encodes a new ion channel that is essential for mechanosensory transduction. As expected for a transduction channel, D. melanogaster NOMPC and a Caenorhabditis elegans homolog were selectively expressed in mechanosensory organs.