Science · 1999 · 63 citations · 16 references
Life SciencesBiologyMolecular GeneticsElectrophysiologyIon Channel BiophysicsNeurophysiologyIon Channel PhysiologyIon ChannelsMembrane ExcitabilityNeural ExcitabilityNeuronal ExcitabilityPotassium Channel BiophysicsExcitability RegulationLoss-of-function MutationsMuscle Excitability ChangesPotassium Channel FunctionPotassium Channel GatingPotassium Channel GenesPotassium Channel PhysiologyVoltage-gated Potassium Channels
The nematode pharynx has a potassium channel with unusual properties, which allows the muscles to repolarize quickly and with the proper delay. Here, the Caenorhabditis elegans exp-2 gene is shown to encode this channel. EXP-2 is a Kv-type (voltage-activated) potassium channel that has inward-rectifying properties resembling those of the structurally dissimilar human ether-à-go-go-related gene (HERG) channel. Null and gain-of-function mutations affect pharyngeal muscle excitability in ways that are consistent with the electrophysiological behavior of the channel, and thereby demonstrate a direct link between the kinetics of this unusual channel and behavior.
16