title: The star-nosed mole reveals clues to the molecular basis of mammalian touch.
abstract: Little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying mammalian touch transduction. To identify novel candidate transducers, we examined the molecular and cellular basis of touch in one of the most sensitive tactile organs in the animal kingdom, the star of the star-nosed mole. Our findings demonstrate that the trigeminal ganglia innervating the star are enriched in tactile-sensitive neurons, resulting in a higher proportion of light touch fibers and lower proportion of nociceptors compared to the dorsal root ganglia innervating the rest of the body. We exploit this difference using transcriptome analysis of the star-nosed mole sensory ganglia to identify novel candidate mammalian touch and pain transducers. The most enriched candidates are also expressed in mouse somatosesensory ganglia, suggesting they may mediate transduction in diverse species and are not unique to moles. These findings highlight the utility of examining diverse and specialized species to address fundamental questions in mammalian biology.
authors: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors: Kristin A
authors: KA
authors: Gerhold
authors: Maurizio
authors: M
authors: Pellegrino
authors: Makoto
authors: M
authors: Tsunozaki
authors: Takeshi
authors: T
authors: Morita
authors: Duncan B
authors: DB
authors: Leitch
authors: Pamela R
authors: PR
authors: Tsuruda
authors: Rachel B
authors: RB
authors: Brem
authors: Kenneth C
authors: KC
authors: Catania
authors: Diana M
authors: DM
authors: Bautista
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D051379:Mice; D008971:Moles / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D059225:Nociception / Q000502:physiology; D010146:Pain / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D012668:Trigeminal Ganglion / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology
references: Nature. 2007 Jul 12;448(7150):204-8
references: 17538622
references: J Physiol. 1991 Apr;435:41-63
references: 1770443
references: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1989 Mar;30(3):461-72
references: 2494126
references: Neuron. 2006 Apr 20;50(2):277-89
references: 16630838
references: Neuron. 2000 Sep;27(3):487-97
references: 11055432
references: Nature. 2007 Feb 22;445(7130):858-65
references: 17314972
references: J Mol Biol. 2001 Jan 19;305(3):567-80
references: 11152613
references: Nat Neurosci. 2005 Jan;8(1):43-50
references: 15580270
references: Genome Res. 2011 Jun;21(6):936-9
references: 20980556
references: J Comp Neurol. 1996 Feb 12;365(3):343-54
references: 8822174
references: J Neurosci. 2011 Aug 3;31(31):11184-92
references: 21813679
references: J Biol Chem. 2009 Apr 3;284(14):9017-21
references: 19054768
references: J Comp Neurol. 1995 Jan 23;351(4):536-48
references: 7721982
references: Bioinformatics. 2009 Jul 15;25(14):1754-60
references: 19451168
references: Neuron. 1998 Jan;20(1):69-81
references: 9459443
references: Nat Neurosci. 2007 Mar;10(3):348-54
references: 17310245
references: Nat Neurosci. 2011 Jan;14(1):31-6
references: 21151121
references: J Neurophysiol. 2007 Dec;98(6):3802-8
references: 17942620
references: J Mol Biol. 2004 Jul 16;340(4):783-95
references: 15223320
references: Neuron. 2005 Jan 6;45(1):17-25
references: 15629699
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Dec 16;105(50):20015-20
references: 19060212
references: Nature. 2002 Feb 28;415(6875):1039-42
references: 11875573
references: Cell. 2012 Aug 31;150(5):1042-54
references: 22939627
references: J Physiol. 2003 Aug 1;550(Pt 3):739-52
references: 12794175
references: Neuron. 2011 May 12;70(3):482-94
references: 21555074
references: Nature. 2005 Feb 3;433(7025):519-22
references: 15690041
references: Neuron. 1998 Sep;21(3):531-43
references: 9768840
references: Genome Res. 2008 Sep;18(9):1509-17
references: 18550803
references: Genome Biol. 2010;11(10):R106
references: 20979621
references: Nature. 2004 Jan 15;427(6971):260-5
references: 14712238
references: Science. 2010 Oct 1;330(6000):55-60
references: 20813920
references: Science. 2008 Aug 1;321(5889):702-5
references: 18669863
references: Nature. 2012 Feb 19;483(7388):209-12
references: 22343891
references: Bioinformatics. 1998;14(4):378-9
references: 9632836
references: Science. 2000 Apr 14;288(5464):306-13
references: 10764638
references: J Physiol. 1997 Nov 15;505 ( Pt 1):177-91
references: 9409481
references: Science. 1929 Aug 30;70(1809):200-4
references: 17732865
references: J Cell Biol. 2010 Oct 18;191(2):237-48
references: 20956378