The skin can also "listen"!

The results of this study will be published in the journal Neuron on September 22, providing a new biological tool for studying the genetic mechanism of hearing

Researchers in the Shawn Xu laboratory of the Life Sciences Institute have used C.

Xu’s laboratory has confirmed that even though nematodes do not have eyes, they still have the ability to perceive light and can perceive their body posture during exercise (also called proprioception)

Xu Xu, a professor of LSI research and the senior author of the study, said: “There is also a major sensory lack of hearing

However, scientists have found that nematodes respond to airborne sound in the range of 100 Hz to 5 kHz, which is wider than some vertebrates can perceive

The researchers conducted several experiments to ensure that the nematode responded to sound waves in the air, rather than vibrations on the surface on which the nematode relied

Nematodes have two types of auditory sensory neurons, which are closely connected to the nematode's skin

Because these two kinds of neurons are distributed in different parts of the nematode body, the nematode can detect the sound source from which the neurons are activated

This research raises the possibility that other earless animals with soft bodies, such as nematodes, such as flatworms, earthworms, and molluscs, may also be able to perceive sound

"Our research shows that we cannot just assume that organisms without ears cannot perceive sound," said Xu, who is also a professor of molecular and integrated physiology at the University of Michigan School of Medicine

Although the hearing of nematodes has some similarities with the auditory system of vertebrates, this new study reveals important differences from the perception of sounds by vertebrates or arthropods

"Based on these differences at the molecular level, we believe that hearing may have evolved independently, evolving multiple times in different animal phyla," Xu said

"Now, for Caenorhabditis elegans, we have discovered another different sensory functional pathway, indicating convergent evolution

Now that all the major sensations have been observed in Caenorhabditis elegans, Xu and his colleagues plan to further investigate the genetic mechanisms and neurobiology that drive these sensations

"This opens up a whole new field for the study of hearing and the whole mechanical sense," he said

Research authors also include Professor Liu Jianfeng from Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Original search: The nematode C.
elegans senses airborne sound, DOI: 10.
1016/j.
neuron.
2021.
08.
035