Mutations in a cyclic nucleotide-gated channel lead to abnormal thermosensation and chemosensation in C. elegans |
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Authors: | H Komatsu I Mori JS Rhee N Akaike Y Ohshima |
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Affiliation: | Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. |
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Abstract: | The C. elegans tax-4 mutants are abnormal in multiple sensory behaviors: they fail to respond to temperature or to water-soluble or volatile chemical attractants. We show that the predicted tax-4 gene product is highly homologous to vertebrate cyclic nucleotide-gated channels. Tax-4 protein expressed in cultured cells functions as a cyclic nucleotide-gated channel. The green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged functional Tax-4 protein is expressed in thermosensory, gustatory, and olfactory neurons mediating all the sensory behaviors affected by the tax-4 mutations. The Tax-4::GFP fusion is partly localized at the sensory endings of these neurons. The results suggest that a cyclic nucleotide-gated channel is required for thermosensation and chemosensation and that cGMP is an important intracellular messenger in C. elegans sensory transduction. |
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