Pyrexia is a new thermal transient receptor potential channel endowing tolerance to high temperatures in Drosophila melanogaster.
Several transient receptor potential channels were recently found to be activated by temperature stimuli in vitro. Their physiological and behavioral roles are largely unknown. From a temperature-preference behavior screen of 27,000 Drosophila melanogaster P-insertion mutants, we isolated a gene, named pyrexia (pyx), encoding a new transient receptor potential channel. Pyx was opened by temperatures above 40 degrees C in Xenopus laevis oocytes and HEK293T cells. It was ubiquitously expressed along the dendrites of a subset of peripheral nervous system neurons and was more permeable to K(+) than to Na(+). Although some pyx alleles resulted in abnormal temperature preferences, pyx null flies did not have significantly different temperature preferences than wild-type flies. But 60% of pyx null flies were paralyzed within 3 min of exposure to 40 degrees C, whereas only 9% of wild-type flies were paralyzed by the same stimulus. From these findings, we propose that the primary in vivo role of Pyx is to protect flies from high-temperature stress.
Lee
Youngseok
Y
Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, 373-1 Guseong-Dong, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-701, Korea.
Lee
Yong
Y
Lee
Jaejung
J
Bang
Sunhoe
S
Hyun
Seogang
S
Kang
Jongkyun
J
Hong
Sung-Tae
ST
Bae
Eunkyung
E
Kaang
Bong-Kiun
BK
Kim
Jaeseob
J
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000502:physiology*; D005334:Fever / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels; D014982:Xenopus laevis
D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels; C074192:trpl protein, Drosophila