Meeting Abstract

P1-12   -   Grasping the genetic basis of haptic sensation Veilleux, CC*; Janiak, MC; Munds, RA; Lam, LG; Bauman Surratt, SE; Montague, MJ; Martínez, MI; Thompson, IJ; Walker, CS; Muchlinski, MN; Higham, JP; Melin, AD; Midwestern University; University of Salford; University of Calgary; University of Calgary; Caribbean Primate Research Center; University of Pennsylvania; Caribbean Primate Research Center; North Carolina State University; North Carolina State University; Oregon Health and Science University; New York University; University of Calgary cveill@midwestern.edu http://carriecveilleux.com

Discriminative touch (i.e., the ability to detect shape, texture, vibration, or object movement with the digits, vibrissae, or lips) is a fundamental way that humans and other mammals interact with the external world. While this sense is thought to have played a key role in the evolution and adaptation of primates, including humans, its genetic basis is poorly understood. The recent discovery of candidate genes involved in touch transduction offers a way to investigate this neglected sense in a comparative context. While previous work has identified the expression of these candidate genes in the trigeminal ganglia of tactile specialists, their expression has not been well studied in the peripheral tissues where the sensory receptors are located. In this study, we used transcriptomics to investigate the expression of genes in tissues from touch-related regions (fingertips, palms, lips) and regions not used for haptic assessment (hairy skin, tongue) in three macaques (Macaca mulatta) from Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. mRNA was extracted from each tissue sample and sequenced at the Center for Health Genomics and Informatics at the University of Calgary. We found variation in the expression of genes putatively associated with mechanoreception (STOML3, Piezo2) across tissue regions. For both genes, expression varied across the fingertips (digit 1 > digit 2 > digit 3) consistent with published data on mechanoreceptor densities. Interestingly, STOML3 was only found in glabrous (hairless) hand regions, suggesting that it may be particularly relevant for mechanoreceptors found primarily in glabrous skin, such as Meissner corpuscles. Our results suggest that gene expression studies in target touch-associated tissues may offer a promising molecular approach for comparative sensory ecology. Our research lays the groundwork for further comparisons across tissue type and across species with different behavior, anatomy and ecology.