title: A TRP conductance modulates repolarization after sensory-dependent depolarization in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
abstract: Sensory integration is vital for motile organisms constantly exposed to changing surroundings. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a single-celled green alga found swimming in freshwater. In this type of alga, sensory input is first detected by membrane receptors located in the cell body, and then transduced to the beating cilia by membrane depolarization. Many components of the machinery associated with sensory integration in C. reinhardtii, such as chemoreceptors and repolarization-associated channels, are yet uncharacterized. TRP channels are known mediators for cellular sensing in animal cells and it has been suggested that the C. reinhardtii genome encodes for a set of TRP proteins. Here, by combining behavioral studies with electrophysiological experiments conducted on both population and single alga, we test whether TRP channel blockers affect algal swimming behavior. Our results suggest that a TRP conductance is associated to the repolarization that follows a depolarizing receptor potential, highlighting a primitive function of TRP proteins.
authors.affiliation: a Physiology Department ; Faculty of Medicine; Universidad Austral de Chile; Campus Isla Teja , Valdivia , Chile.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Arias-Darraz
authors.forename: Charlotte K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Colenso
authors.forename: Luis A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Veliz
authors.forename: Juan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Vivar
authors.forename: Sylvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cardenas
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brauchi
mesh_terms: D001686:Biological Phenomena; D016825:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002923:Cilia / Q000502:physiology*; D016678:Genome; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015398:Signal Transduction; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels
keywords: Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; TRP channels; behavior; chemosensing; photosensing