Fig. 7.

The spatial distribution of NompC matches the moment activation mechanism. NompC channels form an array on the MO membrane (Lower Left). Due to the MO geometry, more NompC channels are located on the proximal end than on the distal end (Upper Left). Based on modeling analysis, we propose a moment activation mechanism in which the proximal part of the MO receives larger forces than the distal part (Upper Right). Therefore, the spatial distribution of NompC matches the force distribution on the MO. In addition, we also observed non-NompC linkers in the nompC³ mutant, suggesting that MMCs may contain non-NompC components in addition to the NompC-AR (Lower Right).