This proposal takes advantage of a unique natural experiment in ion channel structure and function that produced variants of a TRPN channel, encoded in Drosophila by the no mechanoreceptor potential C (nompC) gene. TRPN channels are sensory mechanotransducers, found both in invertebrate mechanosensory neurons and in some vertebrate hair cells. Sensory mechanotransduction is the conversion of mechanical stimuli to cellular potentials: it underlies our senses of touch, hearing, balance and proprioception. Previous work showed that NOMPC is needed to transduce touch and sound, and is located at the tips of sensory cilia in several different mechanoreceptor organs. We have now described multiple NOMPC isoforms, produced by alternate transcript splicing. Most unusually for any channel protein, they encode different versions of the probable pore-forming region, which sets channel conductance and ion selectivity. Moreover, similar pore isoforms are found in other insect orders - notably, those that have evolved high-speed, maneuverable flight. We hypothesize that they reflect the diversification of insect mechanoreceptor organs, possibly under selection from the sensory demands of high-speed flight, and form channels that are differently optimized for specific receptor organs. To test this, we will make transgenic fly strains that each express only one NOMPC isoform, by expressing cDNA constructs in a nompC mutant background; isoforms can be combined by crossing the transgenic strains together. In a complementary approach, RNA interference directed against each alternate exon will selectively downregulate specific isoforms. The ability of each isoform or combination to function in the different sense organs will be tested by behavioral assays and by electrophysiological recording. Finally, the natural splice pattern will be made visible at single-neuron resolution by transgenic splice-reporter genomic constructs, fluorescently tagged in alternate exons. The results will give insights into the structural determinants of mechanotransducer channel activation and adaptation, the operation of TRP superfamily channels in general, and the evolution of a mechanosensory system at the molecular, physiological and morphological levels.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter