Regulation of Potassium and Calcium Channels in Drosophila

果蝇钾离子和钙离子通道的调节钾离子和钙离子通道的调节在多种细胞功能中起重要作用。研究人员已经确定了两个基因的突变，这些突变破坏了果蝇中K+和Ca2+通道的调节。这项研究将确定这两个基因并克隆它们。该项目使用P元件诱变和X射线照射来产生两个调控基因中的每一个的额外突变等位基因。这些新等位基因中的一些将通过P元件或“染色体断裂点”的存在而被“标记”。这些“标记的”等位基因将用于促进两个基因的分离和表征。通过对野生型和突变型等位基因的序列分析，可以确定每个突变型等位基因中存在的突变。过去的研究经验已经清楚地表明，离子通道调控机制具有很强的进化保守性。鉴定研究中的两个基因，以及随后分析编码的基因产物如何调节K+和Ca2+通道，将为果蝇离子通道调节的分子机制提供有价值的见解。这些管理机制可望适用于其他系统。由于离子通道与其他细胞功能共享调节途径，这些研究也将为一般细胞调节途径提供有用的信息。

Regulation of Potassium and Calcium Channels in DrosophilaRegulation of potassium and calcium channels plays an important role in several cellular functions. The investigators have identified mutations, in two genes, that disrupt the regulation of K+ and Ca2+ channels in Drosophila. The proposed research will identify these two genes and clone them. The project uses P-element mutagenesis and X-irradiation to generate additional mutant alleles of each of the two regulatory genes. Some of these new alleles will be "tagged" by the presence of the P-element or a "chromosomal breakpoint". These "tagged" alleles will be used to facilitate the isolation and characterization of the two genes. Sequence analysis of the wild-type and mutant alleles will identify the mutations present within each of the mutant alleles.Past research experience has clearly demonstrated a strong evolutionary conservation of mechanisms involved in the regulation of ion channels. Identification of the two genes under study, and subsequent analysis of how the encoded gene products regulate the K+ and the Ca2+ channels, will provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of Drosophila ion channels. These regulatory mechanisms would be expected to be applicable to other systems. Since ion channels share regulatory pathways with other cellular functions, these studies will also provide useful information on general cellular regulatory pathways.