Mechanosensation

Assaying mechanosensation.

C. elegans detect and respond to diverse mechanical stimuli using neuronal circuitry that has been defined by decades of work by C. elegans researchers. In this WormMethods chapter, we review and comment on the techniques currently used to assess mechanosensory response. This methods review is intended both as an introduction for those new to the field and a convenient compendium for the expert...

Mechanosensation * Miriam

Wild C. elegans and other nematodes live in dirt and eat bacteria, relying on mechanoreceptor neurons (MRNs) to detect collisions with soil particles and other animals as well as forces generated by their own movement. MRNs may also help animals detect bacterial food sources. Hermaphrodites and males have 22 putative MRNs; males have an additional 46 MRNs, most, if not all of which are needed f...

Mechanosensation: Tethered Ion Channels

Two new studies show that the Drosophila transient receptor potential (TRP) family member NOMPC forms both a mechanically gated ion channel and a fine filament that, by tethering the protein to microtubules, might act as a gating spring.

Cardiac Myocytes and Mechanosensation

The molecules of mechanosensation.

Mechanosensation, the transduction of mechanical forces into a cellular electrochemical signal, enables living organisms to detect touch; vibrations, such as sound; accelerations, including gravity; body movements; and changes in cellular volume and shape. Ion channels directly activated by mechanical tension are thought to mediate mechanosensation in many systems. Only one channel has been clo...