PubMed 25916878
Referenced in: none
Automatically associated channels: none
Title: NOMPC-dependent mechanotransduction shapes the dendrite of proprioceptive neurons.
Authors: Abhishek Chadha, Maki Kaneko, Boaz Cook
Journal, date & volume: Neurosci. Lett., 2015 Jun 15 , 597, 111-6
PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25916878
Abstract
Animal locomotion depends on proprioceptive feedback which is generated by mechanosensory neurons. We recently demonstrated that the evolutionarily conserved stumble (stum) gene is essential for mechanical transduction in a group of proprioceptive neurons in Drosophila leg joints. A specialized dendritic ending of the stum-expressing neurons is stretched by changes in joint position, suggesting that the dendritic site is specifically tuned for joint proprioception. Here, we show that the stum-expressing neurons express the mechanosensory channel NOMPC. In nompC mutants responses to joint position were abolished, indicating that NOMPC is the mechanosensitive channel in stum-expressing neurons. The NOMPC protein had a similar subcellular distribution as STUM, being located specifically at the dendritic site that is stretched by joint motions, thus validating that this site is a specialized sensory compartment. In the absence of NOMPC the sensory portion of the dendrite was misshapen, generating membrane protrusions. Thus, we have shown that mechanical responsiveness at a specialized dendritic site is essential for determination of the fine dendritic structure. The abnormal morphology at the sensory compartment of non-active neurons suggests that the dendrite samples for a responsive anchoring site and stabilizes the structure that elicits the effective mechanotransduction.