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Co-option of epidermal cells enables touch sensing
Federica Mangione1, Joshua Titlow2, Catherine Maclachlan3
1Apoptosis and Proliferation Control Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK. federica.mangione@crick.ac.uk.
Nature Cell Biology
|March 24, 2023
Summary
Neighboring epidermal cells are crucial for touch perception in Drosophila. Specialized F-Cells ensheath mechanosensory bristles, enabling tactile stimulus detection in adult epidermis.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
Background:
- The epidermis contains specialized mechanosensory organs for detecting touch.
- The development and function of these organs are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of neighboring epidermal cells in the differentiation and function of mechanosensory bristles in Drosophila.
- To identify and characterize the specific epidermal cell involved in mechanosensory bristle function.
Main Methods:
- Examined the differentiation process of tactile bristles in Drosophila adults.
- Utilized functional assays to assess the role of epidermal cells in touch sensing.
- Identified and named the specialized epidermal cell as the F-Cell.
Main Results:
- Neighboring epidermal cells are essential for touch perception.
- Each mechanosensory bristle signals to recruit a single epidermal cell, termed the F-Cell.
- The F-Cell adopts a specialized morphology to ensheath the bristle.
- Functional assays confirmed that mechanosensory bristles require F-Cell association for touch sensing.
Conclusions:
- Resident epidermal cells play a critical role in the assembly of functional touch-sensitive organs.
- The F-Cell is indispensable for the proper function of mechanosensory bristles.
- This study highlights intercellular communication in the epidermis for sensory organ development.
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