Regensburg 2010 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 21: Neurobiophysics and Sensory Transduction

BP 21.1: Invited Talk

Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 14:00–14:30, H43

Deconstructing hearing: mechanisms and molecules — Björn Nadrowski, Thomas Effertz, and •Martin Göpfert — Abt. Zelluläre Neurobiologie, Universität Göttingen, MPI Experimentelle Medizin, Hermann-Rein-Str. 3, 37075 Göttingen

Our ability to hear relies on dedicated mechano-electrical transduction (MET) channels in our inner ear that convert stimulus forces into electrical signals. Molecularly, these channels have not been identified yet. Work on vertebrate hair cells has provided insights into the physical workings of these channels, including their permeation characteristics and their direct gating by stimulus force. Work on Drosophila, in turn, has put forward channel proteins that are required for hearing, yet whether and, if so, how these channels contribute to the MET channel function remains unclear. Recent studies have shown that the gating of MET channels modulates the macroscopic performance of the fly*s auditory system, setting the stage for a combined physical and genetic dissection of MET channel function in the Drosophila ear. This ongoing dissection will be the topic of this presentation: Firstly, physical models will be presented that allow to quantitatively characterize MET channel function; these models suggest that at least two types of MET channels coexist in the Drosophila ear. And secondly, mutant analyses will be presented that identify genes that are needed for MET channel function. Some of these genes seem required for the proper MET channel localization or may form MET channels themselves.