 Together with MscS, MscL, or its homologs, has been found in bacteria, archaea, fungi, and higher plants, but not animals.Although bacterial and archaeal mechanosensitive channels differ in conductive and mechanosensitive properties, they share similar gating mechanisms triggered by mechanical force transmitted via the lipid bilayer.Although MscL and MscS share similar transmembrane domain and cytoplasmic domain, the overall arrangements of the polypeptide folds in these MS channels are distinct, indicating that they do not share a common evolutionary ancestor.