Prestin is an anion transporter dispensable for mechanical feedback amplification in Drosophila hearing

Ryan G Kavlie; Janice L Fritz; Florian Nies; Martin C Göpfert; Dominik Oliver; Joerg T Albert; Daniel F Eberl

doi:10.1007/s00359-014-0960-9

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Prestin is an anion transporter dispensable for mechanical feedback amplification in Drosophila hearing

Ryan G Kavlie, Janice L Fritz, Florian Nies, Martin C Göpfert, Dominik Oliver, Joerg T Albert and Daniel F Eberl

Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology, Vol.201(1), pp.51-60

01/2015

DOI: 10.1007/s00359-014-0960-9

PMCID: PMC4282873

PMID: 25412730

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Abstract

In mammals, the membrane-based protein Prestin confers unique electromotile properties to cochlear outer hair cells, which contribute to the cochlear amplifier. Like mammals, the ears of insects, such as those of Drosophila melanogaster, mechanically amplify sound stimuli and have also been reported to express Prestin homologs. To determine whether the D. melanogaster Prestin homolog (dpres) is required for auditory amplification, we generated and analyzed dpres mutant flies. We found that dpres is robustly expressed in the fly's antennal ear. However, dpres mutant flies show normal auditory nerve responses, and intact non-linear amplification. Thus we conclude that, in D. melanogaster, auditory amplification is independent of Prestin. This finding resonates with prior phylogenetic analyses, which suggest that the derived motor function of mammalian Prestin replaced, or amended, an ancestral transport function. Indeed, we show that dpres encodes a functional anion transporter. Interestingly, the acquired new motor function in the phylogenetic lineage leading to birds and mammals coincides with loss of the mechanotransducer channel NompC (=TRPN1), which has been shown to be required for auditory amplification in flies. The advent of Prestin (or loss of NompC, respectively) may thus mark an evolutionary transition from a transducer-based to a Prestin-based mechanism of auditory amplification.

Arthropod Antennae - physiology

Drosophila melanogaster - physiology

Cricetulus

Acoustic Stimulation

Animals, Genetically Modified

Vocalization, Animal

Drosophila Proteins - metabolism

Mechanotransduction, Cellular - physiology

Anion Transport Proteins - metabolism

Drosophila melanogaster - genetics

Anions - metabolism

Evoked Potentials, Auditory

Microscopy, Confocal

Patch-Clamp Techniques

Animals

Transfection

Sensory Receptor Cells - physiology

Polymerase Chain Reaction

Hearing - physiology

Drosophila Proteins - genetics

Anion Transport Proteins - genetics

CHO Cells

Details

Title: Subtitle: Prestin is an anion transporter dispensable for mechanical feedback amplification in Drosophila hearing
Creators: Ryan G Kavlie - The Ear Institute, University College London, 332 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8EE, UK
Janice L Fritz
Florian Nies
Martin C Göpfert
Dominik Oliver
Joerg T Albert
Daniel F Eberl
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology, Vol.201(1), pp.51-60
DOI: 10.1007/s00359-014-0960-9
PMID: 25412730
PMCID: PMC4282873
NLM abbreviation: J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol
ISSN: 0340-7594
eISSN: 1432-1351
Publisher: Germany
Grant note: DC006550 / NIDCD NIH HHS 1 S10 RR12916-01 / NCRR NIH HHS P30 DC010362 / NIDCD NIH HHS BB/L02084X/1 / Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council F32 DC006550 / NIDCD NIH HHS DC010362 / NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC004848 / NIDCD NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 01/2015
Academic Unit: Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Biology
Record Identifier: 9983992098102771

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