Study finds protein that helps nematodes avoid salt may also be involved in mammalian hearing
Thursday, January 31, 2013 - 09:00
in Biology & Nature
(Medical Xpress)—A research team with members from Cambridge University in the U.K. and Korea University College of Medicine, has found that a protein expressed in nematodes may also be responsible for controlling an ion channel involved in hearing in mammals. In their study, described in the journal Nature, the team found that a protein expressed due to the TMC-1 gene, allows nematodes to avoid areas of high salt concentrations. Because TMC-1 genes have been linked with hearing problems in mammals, the researchers suggest that the same protein found in nematodes might be responsible for controlling ion channels in mammalian hearing.