Molecular Studies of Ion Channel Regulation

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Nervous systems encode and transmit information in the form of electrical signals. At a cellular level, electrical impulses are generated and modulated by a class of proteins that form ion channels. One class of ion channel proteins that form calcium- activated potassium channels, will be studied. The PI has cloned the gene, slowpoke, that codes for these channels in the fruit fly. A number of different mRNA transcripts that code for slightly different proteins are coded for by this gene. Using molecular techniques, a high resolution map of the tissue and developmental expression of each of the gene products of slowpoke in the nervous system of the fruit fly will be generated. This will be correlated with the biophysical properties of the channels produced. In addition, mutations in slowpoke which result in a unique 'sticky feet' phenotypic behavior will be used to develop genetic screens to identify other genes that control slowpoke gene expression. These studies promise to provide important information on the molecular signals controlling expression of proteins that form ion channels in nerve cells. Such information will be relevant to understanding development and function in the nervous systems of both invertebrates and vertebrates, including human.