Structure of C. elegans TMC-2 complex suggests roles of lipid-mediated subunit contacts in mechanosensory transduction.

ABSTRACT: Mechanotransduction is the process by which a mechanical force, such as touch, is converted into an electrical signal. Transmembrane channel-like (TMC) proteins are an evolutionarily-conserved family of ion channels whose function has been linked to a variety of mechanosensory processes, including hearing and balance sensation in vertebrates and locomotion in Drosophila. The molecular features that tune homologous TMC ion channel complexes to diverse mechanical stimuli are unknown. Caenorhabditis elegans express two TMC homologs, TMC-1 and TMC-2, both of which are the likely pore-forming subunits of mechanosensitive ion channels but differ in their expression pattern and functional role in the worm. Here we present the single particle cryo-electron microscopy structure of the

SUBMITTER: Clark S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10462014 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature