Journal
NATURE
Volume 494, Issue 7435, Pages 95-99Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nature11845
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Funding
- Medical Research Council
- National Research Foundation of Korea [2012000540]
- Ministry of Health Welfare [A111373]
- MRC [MC_U105185857] Funding Source: UKRI
- Medical Research Council [MC_U105185857] Funding Source: researchfish
- Korea Health Promotion Institute [HI11C1327000013] Funding Source: Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS)
- National Research Foundation of Korea [2012R1A1B3000540] Funding Source: Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS)
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Transmembrane channel-like (TMC) genes encode a broadly conserved family of multipass integral membrane proteins in animals(1,2). Human TMC1 and TMC2 genes are linked to human deafness and required for hair-cell mechanotransduction; however, the molecular functions of these and other TMC proteins have not been determined(3-6). Here we show that the Caenorhabditis elegans tmc-1 gene encodes a sodium sensor that functions specifically in salt taste chemosensation. tmc-1 is expressed in the ASH polymodal avoidance neurons, where it is required for salt-evoked neuronal activity and behavioural avoidance of high concentrations of NaCl. However, tmc-1 has no effect on responses to other stimuli sensed by the ASH neurons including high osmolarity and chemical repellents, indicating a specific role in salt sensation. When expressed in mammalian cell culture, C. elegans TMC-1 generates a predominantly cationic conductance activated by high extracellular sodium but not by other cations or uncharged small molecules. Thus, TMC-1 is both necessary for salt sensation in vivo and sufficient to generate a sodium-sensitive channel in vitro, identifying it as a probable ionotropic sensory receptor.
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