Analysis of Drosophila TRPA1 reveals an ancient origin for human chemical nociception

Kyeongjin Kang, Stefan R. Pulver, Vincent C. Panzano, Elaine C. Chang, Leslie C. Griffith, Douglas L. Theobald and Paul A. Garrity ()
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Kyeongjin Kang: National Center for Behavioral Genomics,
Stefan R. Pulver: National Center for Behavioral Genomics,
Vincent C. Panzano: National Center for Behavioral Genomics,
Elaine C. Chang: National Center for Behavioral Genomics,
Leslie C. Griffith: National Center for Behavioral Genomics,
Douglas L. Theobald: Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, USA
Paul A. Garrity: National Center for Behavioral Genomics,

Nature, 2010, vol. 464, issue 7288, 597-600

Abstract: Chemical senses: a conservation issue The ion channel TRPA1 plays a key role in human pain signalling by mediating the detection of reactive electrophiles — noxious chemicals — but its role in invertebrates has been unclear. Now Kang et al. demonstrate that fly and mosquito TRPA1 channels act as molecular sensors of these same chemicals in insect gustatory chemosensory neurons. Further molecular evolution analysis shows that, in contrast to other chemical senses such as gustation or olfaction, reactive electrophile detection represents an ancient sensory modality conserved in molecular detail across some 500 million years of animal evolution. The results should facilitate the design of new repellents against important insect pests affecting agriculture and public health.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1038/nature08848

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