Abstract
Multiple senses, including hearing, touch and osmotic regulation, require the ability to convert force into an electrical signal: A process called mechanotransduction. Mechanotransduction occurs through specialized proteins that open an ion channel pore in response to a mechanical stimulus. Many of these proteins remain unidentified in vertebrates, but known mechanotransduction channels in lower organisms provide clues into their identity and mechanism. Bacteria, fruit flies and nematodes have all been used to elucidate the molecules necessary for force transduction. This chapter discusses many different mechanical senses and takes an evolutionary approach to review the proteins responsible for mechanotransduction in various biological kingdoms.