title: SLO-1 potassium channels control quantal content of neurotransmitter release at the C. elegans neuromuscular junction.
abstract: Six mutants of SLO-1, a large-conductance, Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel of C. elegans, were obtained in a genetic screen for regulators of neurotransmitter release. Mutants were isolated by their ability to suppress lethargy of an unc-64 syntaxin mutant that restricts neurotransmitter release. We measured evoked postsynaptic currents at the neuromuscular junction in both wild-type and mutants and observed that the removal of SLO-1 greatly increased quantal content primarily by increasing duration of release. The selective isolation of slo-1 as the only ion channel mutant derived from a whole genomic screen to detect regulators of neurotransmitter release suggests that SLO-1 plays an important, if not unique, role in regulating neurotransmitter release.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8108, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Z W
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Saifee
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Nonet
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Salkoff
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000378:metabolism; D014981:Xenopus
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D015221:Potassium Channels; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated; C494845:slo-1 protein, C elegans