Stretching of the insect mechanoreceptor evokes mechano-electrical transduction in auditory chordotonal neurons

Insect proprioception, vibration and sound detection rely on the scolopidium—a mechanosensory unit enclosing the sensory cilium of chordotonal organ neurons. The cilium contains mechanosensitive ion channels, and is enclosed by a scolopale cell with its tip embedded in a cap. Despite knowledge of the scolopidium’s structure in multiple insects, the mechanism by which mechanical force elicits the transduction current remains speculative. We examined scolopidia in the auditory Müller’s organ of the desert locust and present a comprehensive three-dimensional ultrastructure of a scolopidium using Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM). Next, we characterised sound-evoked motions of Müller’s organ and the scolopidium using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and high-speed light microscopy. We further measured transduction currents via patch clamp electrophysiology during mechanical stimulation of individual scolopidia. By combining ultrastructure, sound-evoked motions, and transduction current recordings, our finding suggests that the scolopidium is activated best by stretch along the ciliary axis.