By co-immunoprecipitation and in vitro binding assays, we establish that the usherin cytodomain can bind to whirlin and harmonin, two PDZ domain-containing proteins that are defective in genetic forms of isolated deafness and USH type I, respectively.
Many of the mutations known to cause either syndromic or nonsyndromic deafness occur in genes that interact with actin (e.g., the myosins, espin, and harmonin).