The epidermis is equipped with specialized mechanosensory organs that enable the detection of tactile stimuli. Here, by examining the differentiation of the tactile bristles, mechanosensory organs decorating the Drosophila adult epidermis, we show that neighbouring epidermal cells are essential for touch perception. Each mechanosensory bristle signals to the surrounding epidermis to co-opt a single epidermal cell, which we named the F-Cell. Once specified, the F-Cell adopts a specialized morphology to ensheath each bristle. Functional assays reveal that adult mechanosensory bristles require association with the epidermal F-Cell for touch sensing. Our findings underscore the importance of resident epidermal cells in the assembly of functional touch-sensitive organs.

表皮配备有专门的机械感觉器官，能够检测触觉刺激。在这里，通过检查触觉刷毛（装饰果蝇成年表皮的机械感觉器官）的分化，我们表明邻近的表皮细胞对于触觉感知至关重要。每个机械感应刷毛都会向周围的表皮发出信号，以选择一个表皮细胞，我们将其命名为 F 细胞。一旦指定，F-Cell 就会采用特殊的形态来包裹每根刷毛。功能分析表明，成人机械感觉刷毛需要与表皮 F 细胞关联才能进行触摸感应。我们的研究结果强调了驻留表皮细胞在功能性触摸敏感器官组装中的重要性。