The Caenorhabditis elegans tmc-1 is involved in egg-laying inhibition in response to harsh touch

The conserved family of Transmembrane channel-like (TMC) proteins has attracted significant interest since two members appear to be key components of the mammalian hair cell mechanotransducer involved in hearing. C. elegans expresses two TMC proteins, TMC-1 and TMC-2. TMC-1 is widely expressed in in both muscles and the nervous system. This wide expression pattern suggests that TMC-1 might serve different functions in the various neurons. TMC-1 has previously been shown to function in neurons, playing a role in chemosensation in the ASH neurons and mechanosensation in OLQ neurons, further supporting this hypothesis. tmc-1 is expressed in the high-threshold mechanosensory neuron, ALA. We show that tmc-1 mutants show defects in the ALA-dependent inhibition of egg-laying in response to a harsh mechanical stimulus.