Voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels formed by subunits (class D Ca(2+) channels) tightly regulate neurotransmitter release from cochlear inner hair cells (IHCs) by controlling the majority of depolarisation-induced Ca(2+) entry. We have recently shown that the absence of these channels can cause deafness and degeneration of outer hair cells (OHCs) and IHCs in alpha1D-deficient mice (alpha1D(-/-)) (Platzer et al., 2000. Cell 102, 89-97). We investigated the time-dependent patterns of degeneration during postnatal development in the alpha1D(-/-) mouse cochlea using light and electron microscopy. At postnatal day 3 (P3), electron microscopy revealed no morphological aberrations in sensory cells, in afferent as well as in efferent nerve endings. But at P7 we observed a beginning degeneration of afferent nerve fibres by electron microscopy. By P15, we found a loss of OHCs in apical turns but electron microscopy revealed no ultrastructural changes in IHCs and efferent axons as compared to C57 black control animals (C57BL). We demonstrated by serial ultrathin sectioning of 15 days old alpha1D(-/-) mice that intact efferent nerve fibres formed direct contacts with IHCs as the degeneration of afferent nerve fibres progressed. We also saw a notable degeneration of spiral ganglion cells at P15. By 8 months, nearly all spiral ganglion and sensory cells of the organ of Corti were absent. Random ultrathin sectioning gave the impression that synaptic bodies abundant in wild-type animals were absent in nearly all alpha1D(-/-) mice investigated. We conclude that besides presumably reduced synaptic bodies the absence of class D L-type Ca(2+) channels does not prevent morphological development of the cochlea until P3 but may cause cochlear degeneration thereafter. The observed pattern of degeneration involves afferent nerve fibres (P7) followed by cell bodies in the spiral ganglion (P15), OHCs (P15) and IHCs (after P15).