The role of Drosophila Piezo in mechanical nociception. Nature 483

Transduction of mechanical stimuli by receptor neurons is essential for senses such as hearing, touch, and pain1–4. Ion channels play a role in neuronal mechanotransduction in invertebrates1; however, functional conservation of these ion channels in mammalian mechanotransduction is not observed. For example, NOMPC, a TRP ion channel, acts as a mechanotransducer in Drosophila melanogaster5 and Caenorhabditis elegans6,7; however, it has no orthologues in mammals. DEG/ ENaC family members are mechanotransducers in C. elegans8 and potentially in D. melanogaster9; however, a direct role of its mammalian homologues in sensing mechanical force is not shown. Recently, Piezo1 and Piezo2 were identified as components of mechanically activated (MA) channels in mammals10. Piezos represent an evolutionary conserved family of transmembrane proteins. It is unknown whether Piezos function in mechanical sensing in vivo, and if they do, which mechanosensory modalities they mediate. Here, we study the physiological role of the single Piezo member in D. melanogaster (dpiezo). dpiezo expression in human cells induces mechanically activated currents, similar to its mammalian counterparts [Coste et al., accompanying paper11]. Behavioral responses to noxious mechanical stimuli were severel