Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34555314›Full record

ArticleNeuron2021

The nematode C. elegans senses airborne sound.

Adam J Iliff, Can Wang, Elizabeth A Ronan, Alison E Hake, Yuling Guo, Xia Li, Xinxing Zhang, Maohua Zheng, Jianfeng Liu, Karl Grosh and 2 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neuron, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed
3.2field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Automated analysis ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
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  6. The PVD neuron has male-specific structure and mating function inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Shear stress sensing in C. elegans.Current biology : CB · 2024
    Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. A cGAL-UAS bipartite expression toolkit forProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023
    Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Adam J IliffLife Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Can WangLife Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; College of Life Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of MOE, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China.
Elizabeth A RonanLife Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Alison E HakeDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Yuling GuoLife Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; College of Life Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of MOE, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China.
Xia LiLife Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Xinxing ZhangLife Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Maohua ZhengLife Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Jianfeng LiuCollege of Life Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of MOE, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China.
Karl GroshDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
R Keith DuncanDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
X Z Shawn XuLife Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Electronic address: shawnxu@umich.edu.
University of Michigan · USHuazhong University of Science and Technology · CN

Funding

Sensory Mechanisms and Disorders - Administrative SupplementT32DC000011 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Michael Thomas Roberts · 1989 to 2026
$9.5M
Neural and genetic mechanisms underlying behavior in C. elegans - Administrative Supplement for Equipment PurchasesR35GM126917 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI XU, SHAWN · 2018 to 2025
$3.3M
Neural and genetic mechanisms underlying mechanosensation in C. elegansR01DC018167 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI YE, BING · 2020 to 2025
$2.3M
NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC018167NIDCD NIH HHS T32 DC000011NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM126917
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Unlike olfaction, taste, touch, vision, and proprioception, which are widespread across animal phyla, hearing is found only in vertebrates and some arthropods. The vast majority of invertebrate species are thus considered insensitive to sound. Here, we challenge this conventional view by showing that the earless nematode C. elegans senses airborne sound at frequencies reaching the kHz range. Sound vibrates C. elegans skin, which acts as a pressure-to-displacement transducer similar to vertebrate eardrum, activates sound-sensitive FLP/PVD neurons attached to the skin, and evokes phonotaxis behavior. We identified two nAChRs that transduce sound signals independently of ACh, revealing an unexpected function of nAChRs in mechanosensation. Thus, the ability to sense airborne sound is not restricted to vertebrates and arthropods as previously thought, and might have evolved multiple times independently in the animal kingdom, suggesting convergent evolution. Our studies also demonstrate that animals without ears may not be presumed to be sound insensitive.

Indexed as

Caenorhabditis elegansCaenorhabditis elegans ProteinsAnimalsMechanotransduction, CellularProprioceptionTouchCaenorhabditis elegans ProteinsauditionauditorychannelENaCmechanosensitivemechanosensorymechanotransductionPiezoTMCTRP

Identifiers

PMID34555314
PMCPMC8602785
OpenAlexW3199838334

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.