Ancient cartilaginous vertebrates, such as sharks, skates and rays, possess specialized electrosensory organs that detect weak electric fields and relay this information to the central nervous system1–4. Sharks exploit this sensory modality for predation, whereas skates may also use it to detect signals from conspecifics5. Here we analyse shark and skate electrosensory cells to determine whether discrete physiological properties could contribute to behaviourally relevant sensory tuning. We show that sharks and skates use a similar low threshold voltage-gated calcium channel to initiate cellular activity but use distinct potassium channels to modulate this activity. Electrosensory cells from sharks express specially adapted voltage-gated potassium channels that support large, repetitive membrane voltage spikes capable of driving near-maximal vesicular release from elaborate ribbon synapses. By contrast, skates use a calcium-activated potassium channel to produce small, tunable membrane voltage oscillations that elicit stimulus-dependent vesicular release. We propose that these sensory adaptations support amplified indiscriminate signal detection in sharks compared with selective frequency detection in skates, potentially reflecting the electroreceptive requirements of these elasmobranch species. Our findings demonstrate how sensory systems adapt to suit the lifestyle or environmental niche of an animal through discrete molecular and biophysical modifications.Shark and skate electrosensory cells use specific potassium channels to support either indiscriminate detection of electrical stimuli or selective frequency tuning, respectively, demonstrating adaptation of sensory systems through discrete molecular modifications.

中文翻译：

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鲨鱼和冰鞋电感受的分子调节

古老的软骨脊椎动物，如鲨鱼、鳐鱼和鳐鱼，拥有专门的电感应器官，可以检测微弱的电场并将这些信息传递给中枢神经系统 1-4。鲨鱼利用这种感官方式进行捕食，而溜冰鞋也可能使用它来检测来自同种的信号 5。在这里，我们分析鲨鱼和溜冰鞋的电感应细胞，以确定离散的生理特性是否有助于行为相关的感官调节。我们表明鲨鱼和冰鞋使用类似的低阈值电压门控钙通道来启动细胞活动，但使用不同的钾通道来调节这种活动。来自鲨鱼的电感应细胞表达特别适应的电压门控钾通道，支持大的、重复的膜电压尖峰能够从精细的带状突触中驱动接近最大的囊泡释放。相比之下，溜冰鞋使用钙激活的钾通道来产生小的、可调的膜电压振荡，从而引发依赖于刺激的囊泡释放。我们提出，与冰鞋中的选择性频率检测相比，这些感官适应支持鲨鱼中放大的不分青红皂白的信号检测，这可能反映了这些弹鳃物种的电感受需求。我们的研究结果证明了感觉系统如何通过离散的分子和生物物理修饰来适应动物的生活方式或环境生态位。