Figure 4.
Mechanical analysis. (A) A simple mechanical gating model showed that the transduction channel and the mechanical links (Ct) are connected in series (left). In response to the compression stimulus, D, a gating force (Fg) is generated to deflect the channel gate (d), which leads to the opening of the channel. (B) In wild-type cells, the EDM prevents the MTs from approaching each other (left), so most of the deformation D is taken up by the MMCs and the membrane (middle). In f02655 mutant cells, the absence of the EDM allows the two rows of MTs to move toward each other, thereby taking up some of the deformation, D. The additional displacement of the MTs increases the compliance of the links, which would lead to a smaller gating force and a weaker electrical response.