Hair cells possess a single primary cilium, called the kinocilium, early in development. While the kinocilium is lost in auditory hair cells of most species it is maintained in vestibular hair cells. It has generally been believed that the primary role of the kinocilium and cilia-associated genes in hair cells is in the establishment of the polarity of actin-based stereocilia, the hair cell mechanotransduction apparatus. Through genetic screening and testing of candidate genes in zebrafish (Danio rerio) we have found that mutations in multiple cilia genes implicated in intraflagellar transport (dync2h1, wdr35, ift88, and traf3ip), and the ciliary transition zone (cc2d2a, mks1, and cep290) lead to resistance to aminoglycoside-induced hair cell death. These genes appear to have differing roles in hair cells, as mutations in intraflagellar transport genes, but not transition zone genes, lead to defects in kinocilia formation and processes dependent upon hair cell mechanotransduction activity. These mutants highlight a novel role of cilia-associated genes in hair cells, and provide powerful tools for further study.

ATAC-seq is a high-throughput sequencing technique that identifies open chromatin. Depending on the cell type, ATAC-seq samples may contain ~20–80% of mitochondrial sequencing reads. As the regions of open chromatin of interest are usually located in the nuclear genome, mitochondrial reads are typically discarded from the analysis. We tested two approaches to decrease wasted sequencing in ATAC-seq libraries generated from lymphoblastoid cell lines: targeted cleavage of mitochondrial DNA fragments using CRISPR technology and removal of detergent from the cell lysis buffer. We analyzed the effects of these treatments on the number of usable (unique, non-mitochondrial) reads and the number and quality of peaks called, including peaks identified in enhancers and transcription start sites. Both treatments resulted in considerable reduction of mitochondrial reads (1.7 and 3-fold, respectively). The removal of detergent, however, resulted in increased background and fewer peaks. The highest number of peaks and highest quality data was obtained by preparing samples with the original ATAC-seq protocol (using detergent) and treating them with CRISPR. This strategy reduced the amount of sequencing required to call a high number of peaks, which could lead to cost reduction when performing ATAC-seq on large numbers of samples and in cell types that contain a large amount of mitochondria.

Sensory hair cells are susceptible to numerous insults, including certain therapeutic medications like aminoglycoside antibiotics, and hearing and balance disorders are often a dose-limiting side effect of these medications. We show that mutations in multiple genes in both the retrograde intraflagellar transport (IFT) motor and adaptor complexes lead to resistance to aminoglycoside-induced hair cell death. These mutations also lead to defects in the entry of both aminoglycosides and the vital dye FM1-43 into hair cells, both processes that depend on hair cell mechanotransduction activity. However, the trafficking of proteins important for mechanotransduction activity is not altered by these mutations. Our data suggest that both retrograde IFT motor and adaptor complex genes are playing a role in aminoglycoside toxicity through affecting aminoglycoside uptake into hair cells.

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