Ionotropic glutamate receptors in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) are an important class of heteromeric ligand-gated receptor complexes that mediate a large portion of the excitatory neurotransmission in the vertebrate CNS. Since the cloning of the first iGluR subunit in 1989, the study of this receptor family has rapidly developed in mammals and expanded to include the study of conserved glutamate receptors in simpler invertebrate systems, including the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. These model organisms have enabled the genetic analysis of glutamate receptors in the context of a simpler nervous system and provided new insights into receptor function and regulation. In this review we will focus on recent studies that have used genetic, behavioral, and electrophysiological techniques to study the function of iGluRs in C. elegans.
Brockie
Penelope J
PJ
Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0840, USA.
Maricq
Andres V
AV
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism; D018118:Chloride Channels / Q000502:physiology; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004594:Electrophysiology; D008967:Molecular Biology; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013045:Species Specificity; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism
D000596:Amino Acids; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018118:Chloride Channels; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate