The micromechanics of the lateral line system of zebrafish

斑马鱼侧线系统的微观力学。“鱼有第六感，可以探测到身体周围的水流。这种能力，被称为“远距离触觉”或侧线感觉，使鱼类能够找到水流的方向，在黑暗中探测障碍物，协调集群，定位猎物，并避开捕食者。尽管侧线感觉对鱼类的行为和生态学具有广泛的重要性，但侧线器官从其环境中提取的机械信息尚不清楚。麦克亨利博士提出的这项工作将研究单个侧线结构的力学，以了解它们是如何过滤促进流量传感的机械信号的。侧线通过从身体表面伸出的一系列微观手指状结构来检测水的运动。每个结构，被称为浅表神经肥大，是由无胶圆柱体组成的，其基部锚定在一组毛细胞上，这是在人耳中发现的机械感觉细胞类型。水在身体表面的运动引起神经瘤的偏转，并通过毛细胞转化为神经信号。这一信号的性质取决于神经突对流动的反应程度，而这又取决于它的形状和材料硬度。为了研究浅表神经突的力学，麦克亨利和他的合作者将使用斑马鱼，因为它们透明的身体使浅表神经突易于观察和操作。通过测量神经丘对力探针推动的反应，他们将计算出它们的材料刚度。神经丘的形状将通过一系列高分辨率图像在离身体表面不同距离处测量。这些测量结果将为数学模型提供基础，该模型将神经柱视为固定在刚性弹簧上的柔性梁。该模型将允许研究人员考虑流速如何影响神经柱过滤的信号，以及不同的神经柱形状和它们在身体上的位置如何影响它们检测到的信号。有了对表面神经瘤机制的理解，神经生物学家和行为生物学家可以考虑侧线系统使用什么样的机械信号进行学校教育，避障和捕食者/猎物相互作用。

Project Description for"The micromechanics of the lateral line system of zebrafish."Fish have a sixth sense that detects the flow of water around their bodies. This ability, known as"distant touch" or the lateral line sense, allows fish to find the direction of flow in a stream, detect obstaclesin the dark, coordinate schooling, locate prey, and avoid predators. Despite the broad importance of thelateral line sense to the behavior and ecology of fish, it is not understood what mechanical information thelateral line organ extracts from its environment. The work proposed by Dr. McHenry will examine themechanics of individual lateral line structures in order to understand how they filter the mechanical signalsthat facilitate flow sensing.The lateral line detects water movement with an array of microscopic, finger-like structures thatproject from the surface of the body. Each structure, known as a superficial neuromast, is composed of agelatinous cylinder that is anchored at its base to a group of hair cells, which is the type of mechanosensorycell found in the human ear. Water movement over the body's surface causes a deflection in the neuromastthat is transduced into a nervous signal by the hair cells. The properties of this signal depend of how muchthe neuromast deflects in response to flow, which depends on its shape and material stiffness.In order to examine the mechanics of superficial neuromasts, McHenry and collaborators will uselarval zebrafish because their transparent bodies allow superficial neuromasts to easily be observed andmanipulated. By measuring the deflection of neuromasts in response to a push by a force probe, they willcalculate their material stiffness. The shape of neuromasts will be measured from a series of high-resolutionimages at varying distance away from the body's surface. These measurements will provide the basis of amathematical model that treats the neuromast as a flexible beam anchored to a stiff spring.This model will allow investigators to consider how flow speed affects the signals filtered by theneuromasts and how different neuromast shapes and their position on the body affects the signals that theydetect. With this understanding for the mechanics of superficial neuromasts, neurobiologists andbehavioral biologists may consider what mechanical signals the lateral line system uses for schooling,obstacle avoidance, and predator/prey interactions.