The inner ear is a biological mechanosensor specialized for detecting sound and balance. In vertebrates including humans, these mechanical stimuli are sensed by the inner ear sensory hair cells equipped with brush-like, actin-based protrusions called stereocilia. Development of functional stereocilia depends on specific motor proteins—namely, myosins—that actively transport their “cargo” along the actin track in stereocilia, including components of the mechanoelectrical transduction (MET) machinery. Our laboratory investigates how these myosin molecules localize themselves and their cargo
