Properties of a mechano-electrical transduction channel were studied in enzymatically dissociated chick vestibular hair cells by using a whole-cell recording variation of the patch voltage-clamp technique. The apical hair bundle was stimulated by a glass rod which moved along a one-dimensional axis when stimulated by either a triangular or a trapezoidal command voltage. The motion of the glass rod was monitored optically using a photodiode. In response to triangular stimuli, the hair cell generated a current of triangular wave form with occasional step-like spiky or zigzag-appearing events. Control experiments confirmed that the current was generated only when the hair bundle was displaced towards the tallest stereocilium. The mechano-sensitive current was blocked by streptomycin and by neomycin. The blockage by streptomycin was clearly voltage dependent: the reduction of the current became larger with hyperpolarization of the membrane. This suggests that the positively charged antibiotic molecules plug the mechanically gated channels. From the evidence presented in 3 and 4 above, the mechano-sensitive current recorded here was identified as the mechano-electrical transduction (m-e.t.) current. The permeability of the m-e.t. channel to various monovalent cations was determined from reversal potential measurements. Since a CsCl-EGTA intracellular medium was used, all the permeabilities were calculated relative to PCs. The sequence of permeabilities was Li greater than Na greater than or equal to K greater than or equal to Rb greater than Cs greater than choline greater than TMA greater than TEA. External Ca ions were indispensable for the recording of transduction current and Sr ions could replace Ca ions without loss of the transduction activity. The minimum [Ca]o for stable generation of the m-e.t. current was 20 microM in Cs saline. The addition of 50-200 microM-Ca to the isotonic Ba saline could maintain the m-e.t. current. The m-e.t. current was observed in isotonic Ca and in Sr salines. Isotonic Ba, Mg and Mn salines were enriched with 1-2 mM-Ca in order to generate the m-e.t. current. The permeabilities of the divalent cations relative to Cs were calculated from the reversal potentials, and the sequence of permeabilities among divalent cations was Ca greater than Sr greater than Ba greater than Mn greater than Mg. Step-like m-e.t. currents were observed in Cs saline. The smallest step amplitude with clear resolution had a conductance of 49.7 +/- 4.5 pS (mean +/- S.D., n = 7 cells). This is likely to be an elementary m-e.t. channel conductance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)