RESEARCH ARTICLE TMC1 is an essential component of a leak channel that modulates tonotopy and excitability of auditory hair cells in mice Shuang Liu1,2†, Shufeng Wang1,2†, Linzhi Zou1,2†, Jie Li1,2, Chenmeng Song1,2, Jiaofeng Chen1,2, Qun Hu1,2, Lian Liu1,2, Pingbo Huang3,4,5, Wei Xiong1,2* 1School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; 2IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; 3Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China; 4State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China; 5Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China Abstract Hearing sensation relies on the mechano-electrical transducer (MET) channel of cochlear hair cells, in which transmembrane channel-like 1 (TMC1) and transmembrane channel-like 2 (TMC2) have been proposed to be the pore-forming subunits in mammals. TMCs were also found to regulate biological processes other than MET in invertebrates, ranging from sensations to motor function. However, whether TMCs have a non-MET role remains elusive in mammals. Here, we report that in mouse hair cells, TMC1, but not TMC2, provides a background leak conductance, with properties distinct from those of the MET channels. By cysteine substitutions in TMC1, we characterized four amino acids that are required for the leak conductance. The leak conductance is graded in a frequency-dependent manner along the length of the cochlea and is indispensable for *For correspondence: action potential firing. Taken together, our results show that TMC1 confers a background leak
[email protected] conductance in cochlear hair cells, which may be critical for the acquisition of sound-frequency and - †These authors contributed intensity.