Gregory I. Frolenkov, Ph.D.
The Research
University of Kentucky
Mechanoelectrical transduction without Myosin XVa
The long-term goal is to define the molecular and biophysical mechanisms shaping mechanosensitivity in cochlear hair cells. A common structural feature of hair cells in all vertebrates is the staircase arrangement of stereocilia, which is thought to be critical for mechanotransduction. This study will determine the distinguishing features of mechanotransduction in auditory hair cells of deaf shaker 2 mice that have abnormally short stereocilia due to a mutation in the motor domain of Myosin XVa.