Drosophila hearing: mechanisms and genes

Abstract

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster communicates acoustically and hears with its antennae. Fundamental aspects of hearing can be studied in these antenna! ears. Their auditory sensory cells are evolutionarily related with vertebrate hair cells and are developmentally specified by homologous transcription factors. Like vertebrate hair cells, Drosophila auditory sensory cells are also motile and actively amplify the mechanical vibrations that they transduce. This transduction and amplification rely on the interplay between mechanically activated ion channels and motor proteins, whose movement impacts on the macroscopic performance of the ear. First molecular transducer components have been identified and various auditory relevant proteins have been described. Several of these proteins are conserved components of cilia, putting forward the fly's ear as a model for human ciliopathies. Also the evolution of sensory signalling cascades can be studied using the fly's ear as the fly employs key Chemo- and Photoreceptor proteins to hear. Evidence is also accumulating that the fly's ear is a multifunctional sensory organ that, in addition to mediating hearing, serves the detection of wind and gravity and, presumably, temperature.