Otolith organs in the inner ear and neuromasts in the fish lateral-line harbor two populations of hair cells oriented to detect stimuli in opposing directions. The underlying mechanism is highly conserved: the transcription factor EMX2 is regionally expressed in just one hair cell population and acts through the receptor GPR156 to reverse cell orientation relative to the other population. In mouse and zebrafish, loss of Emx2 results in sensory organs that harbor only one hair cell orientation and are not innervated properly. In zebrafish, Emx2 also confers hair cells with reduced mechanosensory properties. Here, we leverage mouse and zebrafish models lacking GPR156 to determine how detecting stimuli of opposing directions serves vestibular function, and whether GPR156 has other roles besides orienting hair cells. We find that otolith organs in Gpr156 mouse mutants have normal zonal organization and normal type I-II hair cell distribution and mechano-electrical transduction properties. In contrast, gpr156 zebrafish mutants lack the smaller mechanically evoked signals that characterize Emx2-positive hair cells. Loss of GPR156 does not affect orientation-selectivity of afferents in mouse utricle or zebrafish neuromasts. Consistent with normal otolith organ anatomy and afferent selectivity, Gpr156 mutant mice do not show overt vestibular dysfunction. Instead, performance on two tests that engage otolith organs is significantly altered – swimming and off-vertical-axis rotation. We conclude that GPR156 relays hair cell orientation and transduction information downstream of EMX2, but not selectivity for direction-specific afferents. These results clarify how molecular mechanisms that confer bi-directionality to sensory organs contribute to function, from single hair cell physiology to animal behavior.

In congenital stationary night blindness, type 2 (CSNB2)—a disorder involving the Ca_v1.4 (L-type) Ca²⁺ channel—visual impairment is mild considering that Ca_v1.4 mediates synaptic release from rod and cone photoreceptors. Here, we addressed this conundrum using a Ca_v1.4 knockout (KO) mouse and a knock-in (G369i KI) mouse expressing a non-conducting Ca_v1.4. Surprisingly, Ca_v3 (T-type) Ca²⁺ currents were detected in cones of G369i KI mice and Ca_v1.4 KO mice but not in cones of wild-type mouse, ground squirrels, and macaque retina. Whereas Ca_v1.4 KO mice are blind, G369i KI mice exhibit normal photopic (i.e. cone-mediated) visual behavior. Cone synapses, which fail to form in Ca_v1.4 KO mice, are present, albeit enlarged, and with some errors in postsynaptic wiring in G369i KI mice. While Ca_v1.4 KO mice lack evidence of cone synaptic responses, electrophysiological recordings in G369i KI mice revealed nominal transmission from cones to horizontal cells and bipolar cells. In CSNB2, we propose that Ca_v3 channels maintain cone synaptic output provided that the nonconducting role of Ca_v1.4 in cone synaptogenesis remains intact. Our findings reveal an unexpected form of homeostatic plasticity that relies on a non-canonical role of an ion channel.