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First published online June 13, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 2105-2115 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.016204

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The morphology and mechanical sensitivity of lateral line receptors in zebrafish larvae (Danio rerio)

William J. Van Trump^* and Matthew J. McHenry

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 5205 McGaugh Hall, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: wvantrum{at}uci.edu)

Accepted 21 April 2008

The lateral line system of fish and amphibians detects water flow with receptors on the surface of the body. Although differences in the shape of these receptors, called neuromasts, are known to influence their mechanics, it is unclear how neuromast morphology affects the sensitivity of the lateral line system. We examined the functional consequences of morphological variation by measuring the dimensions of superficial neuromasts in zebrafish larvae (Danio rerio) and mathematically modeling their mechanics. These measurements used a novel morphometric technique that recorded landmarks in three dimensions at a microscopic scale. The mathematical model predicted mechanical sensitivity as the ratio of neuromast deflection to flow velocity for a range of stimulus frequencies. These predictions suggest that variation in morphology within this species generates a greater than 30-fold range in the amplitude of sensitivity and more than a 200-fold range of variation in cut-off frequency. Most of this variation was generated by differences in neuromast height that do not correlate with body position. Our results suggest that natural variation in cupular height within a species is capable of generating large differences in their mechanical filtering and dynamic range.

Key words: fish, mechanosensory, hair cells, lateral line

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