Abstract
Ears achieve their exquisite sensitivity by means of mechanical feedback: motile mechanosensory cells through their active motion boost the mechanical input from the ear. Examination of the auditory mechanics in Drosophila melanogaster mutants shows that the transient receptor potential (TRP) channel NompC is required to promote this feedback, whereas the TRP vanilloid (TRPV) channels Nan and Iav serve to control the feedback gain. The combined function of these channels specifies the sensitivity of the fly auditory organ.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Walker, R.G., Willingham, A.T. & Zuker, C.S. Science 287, 2229–2234 (2000).
Kim, J. et al. Nature 424, 81–84 (2003).
Gong, Z. et al. J. Neurosci. 24, 9059–9066 (2004).
Sidi, S., Friedrich, R.W. & Nicolson, T. Science 301, 96–99 (2003).
Shin, J.-B. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102, 12572–12577 (2005).
Corey, D.P. et al. Nature 432, 723–730 (2004).
Zheng, J. et al. J. Neurophysiol. 90, 444–455 (2003).
Liedtke, W. et al. Cell 103, 525–535 (2000).
Lin, S.-Y. & Corey, D.P. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 15, 350–357 (2005).
Fettiplace, R. & Hackney, C.M. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 7, 19–29 (2006).
Robles, L. & Ruggero, M.A. Physiol. Rev. 81, 1305–1352 (2001).
Martin, P. & Hudspeth, A.J. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98, 14386–14391 (2001).
Baguley, D.M. Br. Med. Bull. 63, 195–212 (2002).
Eberl, D.F., Hardy, R.W. & Kernan, M.J. J. Neurosci. 20, 5981–5988 (2000).
Frolenkov, G., Mammano, F. & Kachar, B. Cell Calcium 33, 185–195 (2003).
Acknowledgements
We thank M.J. Kernan (Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York) and Y.-D. Chung (University of Seoul, Seoul, Korea) for providing nan and iav mutants and controls, and R.G. Walker (Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon) for providing nompC mutants and controls. This work was supported by the Volkswagen Foundation (grant I 79 147 to M.C.G.). A.K. is supported by the Japanese Cell Science Research Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Supplementary information
Supplementary Fig. 1
Frequency-specific amplification. (PDF 546 kb)
Supplementary Fig. 2
Absence of nonlinear amplification in nompC3 mutants. (PDF 628 kb)
Supplementary Fig. 3
Model of TRP function in the Drosophila ear. (PDF 560 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Göpfert, M., Albert, J., Nadrowski, B. et al. Specification of auditory sensitivity by Drosophila TRP channels. Nat Neurosci 9, 999–1000 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1735
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1735
This article is cited by
-
Axonemal Dynein DNAH5 is Required for Sound Sensation in Drosophila Larvae
Neuroscience Bulletin (2021)
-
Homeostatic maintenance and age-related functional decline in the Drosophila ear
Scientific Reports (2020)
-
Fast intensity adaptation enhances the encoding of sound in Drosophila
Nature Communications (2018)
-
Sex and species specific hearing mechanisms in mosquito flagellar ears
Nature Communications (2018)
-
Diverse Roles of Axonemal Dyneins in Drosophila Auditory Neuron Function and Mechanical Amplification in Hearing
Scientific Reports (2015)