Book Description
Hair cells are specialized mechanoreceptor cells that reside in the inner ear with staircase-shaped bundles of stereocilia protruding from their apical surfaces. Hearing occurs when the hair bundle is tilted towards the tallest stereocilia, allowing the opening of mechanotransduction channels at the tips of stereocilia. The molecular identity of the mechanotransduction channel is unknown. Proteins with transmembrane domains are promising candidates for the mechanotransduction channel in hair cells. TALEN and CRISPR/Cas technologies are two technologies that have been shown to be efficient genome-editing tools in several organisms. In this study, we have successfully mutagenized the genes of several proteins that encode transmembrane domains with TALEN and CRISPR/Cas. Upon obtaining the knockout zebrafish, we will be able to assess the role of each gene in mechanotransduction. In summary, we have established a systematic platform to generate gene-specific knockout zebrafish with TALEN and CRISPR/Cas in order to determine the genes that regulate mechanotransduction in hearing.