title: Phylogenomic analysis and evolution of the potassium channel gene family.
abstract: Potassium channels govern the permeability of cells to potassium ions, thereby controlling the membrane potential. In metazoa, potassium channels are encoded by a large, diverse gene family. Previous analyses of this gene family have focused on its diversity in mammals. Here we have pursued a more comprehensive study in Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and mammalian genomes. The investigation revealed 164 potassium channel encoding genes in C. elegans, D. melanogaster, and mammals, classified into seven conserved families, which we applied to phylogenetic analysis. The trees are discussed in relation to the assignment of orthologous relationships between genes and vertebrate genome duplication.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom. gmoulton@bioinf.man.ac.uk
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moulton
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Attwood
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Parry-Smith
authors.forename: J C L
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Packer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D002118:Calcium / Q000737:chemistry; D019295:Computational Biology; D019992:Databases as Topic; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D000072237:ERG1 Potassium Channel; D051638:Ether-A-Go-Go Potassium Channels; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D007477:Ions; D010802:Phylogeny; D011188:Potassium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000235:genetics*; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated / Q000235:genetics; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D051381:Rats; D012984:Software
chemical_list: D000072237:ERG1 Potassium Channel; D051638:Ether-A-Go-Go Potassium Channels; D007477:Ions; D015221:Potassium Channels; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated; D011188:Potassium; D002118:Calcium