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THREE SNAKE LINEAGES. "Despite the huge evolutionary distance – more than 30 million years – infrared-sensing snakes from the three different families co-opted the same molecular strategy to sense minute amounts of heat emanating from their prey: through functional tuning of TRPA1...snake TRPA1 has one of the lowest apparent thermal thresholds identified so far in vertebrates." https://lnkd.in/eFfEp_R View in LinkedIn

THERMOSENSITIVITY. "Thermsensitive transient receptor potential (thermoTRP) channels serve as thermal sensors in diverse animal species." Includes our protagonist, TRP1. https://lnkd.in/erbAj5A View in LinkedIn

"TRPA1 orthologues from pit-bearing snakes (vipers, pythons and boas) are the most heat-sensitive vertebrate ion channels thus far identified, consistent with their role as primary transducers of infrared stimuli. Thus, snakes detect infrared signals through a mechanism involving radiant heating of the pit organ, rather than photochemical transduction." https://lnkd.in/e9jVgFP View in LinkedIn

INFRARED DETECTION BY SNAKES. "Snakes possess a unique sensory system for detecting infrared radiation, enabling them to generate a ‘thermal image’ of predators or prey. Infrared signals are initially received by the pit organ, a highly specialized facial structure that is innervated by nerve fibres of the somatosensory system." https://lnkd.in/e9jVgFP View in LinkedIn

VERTEBRATE TEMPERATURE DETECTION. "Several major classes of ion channels contribute to this process: (iii) leak channels, which dynamically regulate the membrane potential at rest through voltage-independent potassium efflux." https://lnkd.in/eFfEp_R View in LinkedIn

VERTEBRATE TEMPERATURE DETECTION. "Several major classes of ion channels contribute to this process: (ii) voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels, which open in response to receptor-mediated depolarization and propagate action potentials;" https://lnkd.in/eFfEp_R View in LinkedIn

VERTEBRATE TEMPERATURE DETECTION. "Several major classes of ion channels contribute to this process: (i) receptor channels, which detect temperature changes and depolarize neurons via a non-selective cation influx;" https://lnkd.in/eFfEp_R View in LinkedIn

"THERMAL PERCEPTION is a fundamental physiological process pertaining to the vast majority of organisms. In vertebrates, environmental temperature is detected by the primary afferents of the somatosensory neurons in the skin, which express a ‘choir’ of ion channels tuned to detect particular temperatures." https://lnkd.in/eFfEp_R View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT IN NATURE for the next two weekends covers a fascinating, multifunctional molecule that exists in many kingdoms, namely, TRPA1. This molecule belongs to a large structurally-related family which has a phenomenally diverse set of biological functions, and an equally large number of activators. This is a case study of biochemical nuances expressed in diverse physiological responses. View in LinkedIn

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