Mechanosensation

Goodman, Miriam B.

doi:10.1895/wormbook.1.62.1

Cited by 143 publications

(131 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…MEC-10 is expressed only in the six touch neurons and two additional pairs of mechanosensitive multidendritic neurons, FLP and PVD (14,23). We found evidence of ASIC-1 expression in FLP neurons, but not in PVD neurons, because an asic-1 promoter drove expression of the fluorophore mCherry in this neuron pair (Fig.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 63%

“…The subtle increase in cuticle stretch by hydration may selectively activate FLP without affecting nearby mechanosensory neurons that do not have branched dendrites. These neurons include the touch neurons, which have rodshaped sensory dendrites aligned along the length of the animal, as well as anterior mechanosensory neurons, which detect vibrations or harsh prodding at the tip of the head with tiny cilia (14,28).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We first tested the possibility that TRP channels other than the foregoing might be involved in hygrosensation, but found that deletion of any 1 of the 15 predicted TRP channel genes had no effect on hygrotaxis. We next tested a role for DEG/ENaC/ASICclass ion channels by investigating the hygrotaxis ability of worms lacking the peroxidase MEC-6, a critical subunit for DEG/ENaC/ ASIC-class ion channels (14). The mec-6 mutant worms exhibited significantly impaired hygrotaxis (Fig.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This model has been used to successfully elucidate neuronal mechanisms and molecules critical for diverse sensory pathways (12)(13)(14). We expected C. elegans to be sensitive to humidity because its small volume (∼3.8 × 10 6 μm 3 ) and hydrostatic skeleton make it vulnerable to desiccation and overhydration, which are often lethal to this tiny (∼1 mm) worm (15).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Humidity sensation requires both mechanosensory and thermosensory pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans

Russell

Vidal-Gadea

Makay

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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All terrestrial animals must find a proper level of moisture to ensure their health and survival. The cellular-molecular basis for sensing humidity is unknown in most animals, however. We used the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to uncover a mechanism for sensing humidity. We found that whereas C. elegans showed no obvious preference for humidity levels under standard culture conditions, worms displayed a strong preference after pairing starvation with different humidity levels, orienting to gradients as shallow as 0.03% relative humidity per millimeter. Cell-specific ablation and rescue experiments demonstrate that orientation to humidity in C. elegans requires the obligatory combination of distinct mechanosensitive and thermosensitive pathways. The mechanosensitive pathway requires a conserved DEG/ENaC/ ASIC mechanoreceptor complex in the FLP neuron pair. Because humidity levels influence the hydration of the worm's cuticle, our results suggest that FLP may convey humidity information by reporting the degree that subcuticular dendritic sensory branches of FLP neurons are stretched by hydration. The thermosensitive pathway requires cGMP-gated channels in the AFD neuron pair. Because humidity levels affect evaporative cooling, AFD may convey humidity information by reporting thermal flux. Thus, humidity sensation arises as a metamodality in C. elegans that requires the integration of parallel mechanosensory and thermosensory pathways. This hygrosensation strategy, first proposed by Thunberg more than 100 y ago, may be conserved because the underlying pathways have cellular and molecular equivalents across a wide range of species, including insects and humans. mechanosensation | thermosensation M oisture is essential for life. As such, many animals have adapted different behavioral mechanisms to migrate toward their preferred moisture level (hygrotaxis) (1-6). For instance, Drosophila avoid high humidity that impedes flight, whereas green frogs orient toward high humidity to maintain hydration (5, 6). Animals also sense moisture levels to determine important information about their environment; for example, moths detect humidity levels around flowers to deduce which ones might be damaged and contain less nectar (7). These behaviors are often critical to keep an animal within its niche and regulate essential processes such as growth and reproduction. Thus, it is surprising that the molecular basis for how different humidity levels are detected and encoded by the nervous system (hygrosensation) remains unknown in most animals.The search for humidity receptors has achieved the most progress in insects. For instance, distinct sets of hygrosensitive neurons have been found in dome-shaped organs on the antenna of the giant cockroach (8). One set activates with moist air, and the other set responds to dry air. Similar moist and dry receptive neurons have been detected in the branched arista subsegment of the antennae in adult Drosophila (9). Removal of the arista or deletion of any one of three TRP channels expres...

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Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 63%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Humidity sensation requires both mechanosensory and thermosensory pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans

Russell

Vidal-Gadea

Makay

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Mechanical forces are known to play a direct role in triggering signal transduction pathways in C. elegans (16,17). Because the adult worm has only 22 specialized nerve cells for mechanotransduction, the bulk mechanical properties of the organism will determine how mechanical stimuli are distributed across these A B specialized cells-mechanical coupling thus allows short timescale coupling of different mechanosensory neurons (52). More directly, the stiffness of the body affects how sensitive these neurons will be to stimuli of various magnitudes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Worms under Pressure: Bulk Mechanical Properties of C. elegans Are Independent of the Cuticle

Gilpin

Uppaluri

Brangwynne

2015

Biophysical Journal

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The mechanical properties of cells and tissues play a well-known role in physiology and disease. The model organism Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits mechanical properties that are still poorly understood, but are thought to be dominated by its collagen-rich outer cuticle. To our knowledge, we use a novel microfluidic technique to reveal that the worm responds linearly to low applied hydrostatic stress, exhibiting a volumetric compression with a bulk modulus, k ¼ 140 5 20 kPa; applying negative pressures leads to volumetric expansion of the worm, with a similar bulk modulus. Surprisingly, however, we find that a variety of collagen mutants and pharmacological perturbations targeting the cuticle do not impact the bulk modulus. Moreover, the worm exhibits dramatic stiffening at higher stresses-behavior that is also independent of the cuticle. The stress-strain curves for all conditions can be scaled onto a master equation, suggesting that C. elegans exhibits a universal elastic response dominated by the mechanics of pressurized internal organs.

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Reductionism in Biology

Darden¹,

Craver²

2009

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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Mechanosensation

Cited by 143 publications

References 38 publications

Humidity sensation requires both mechanosensory and thermosensory pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans

Humidity sensation requires both mechanosensory and thermosensory pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans

Worms under Pressure: Bulk Mechanical Properties of C. elegans Are Independent of the Cuticle

Reductionism in Biology

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