F. Sachs, C.E. Morris, Mechanosensitive Ion Channels in Nonspecialized Cells.- M. Leist, P. Nicotera, Calcium and Neuronal Death.
Mechanosensitivity is a universal property of cells and provides an obvious
survival advantage for free living organisms who must back away from
barriers and evade predators. For multicellular animals, mechanosensitivity
provides sensory inputs for hearing, touch, kinesthesis and proprioception,
the volume of hollow organs, the regulation of hormones involved
with fluid homeostasis and the regulation of growth of bone and muscle.
In plants, mechanosensitivity ensures that roots grow down and stems
grow up, that pea plants twine and that the gills of fungi are vertical.