title: Unitary recordings of TRP and TRPL channels from isolated Drosophila retinal photoreceptor rhabdomeres: activation by light and lipids.
abstract: Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels play key roles in sensory transduction. The TRP family founding members, the Drosophila light-dependent channels, were previously studied under voltage clamp, but had not been characterized in intact rhabdomeres at single-channel level. We report patch-clamp recordings from intact isolated photoreceptors of wt and mutant flies lacking TRP (trp(343)), TRPL (trpl(302)), or both channels (trp(313); trpl(302)). Unitary currents were activated by light in rhabdomere-attached patches. In excised rhabdomeral patches, the channels were directly activated by molecules implicated in phototransduction, such as diacylglycerol and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Currents recorded from trpl photoreceptors are blocked by external Ca(2+), Mg(2+) (1 mM), and La(3+) (20 muM), whereas those from trp photoreceptors are not. Rhabdomeric patches lacked voltage-dependent activity. Patches from trp;trpl mutants were devoid of channels. These characteristics match the macroscopic conductances, suggesting that the unitary currents from Drosophila trpl and trp photoreceptors correspond to TRP and TRPL.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile, P.O. Box 653, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bacigalupo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001703:Biophysics; D002412:Cations / Q000494:pharmacology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000494:pharmacology; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D007700:Kinetics; D008027:Light; D008055:Lipids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008071:Lipoprotein Lipase / Q000494:pharmacology; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D017956:Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology*; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D008055:Lipids; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels; C074192:trpl protein, Drosophila; D008071:Lipoprotein Lipase