Calcium-release channels in paramecium. Genomic expansion, differential positioning and partial transcriptional elimination.

ABSTRACT: The release of Ca²⁺ from internal stores is a major source of signal Ca²⁺ in almost all cell types. The internal Ca²⁺ pools are activated via two main families of intracellular Ca²⁺-release channels, the ryanodine and the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP₃) receptors. Among multicellular organisms these channel types are ubiquitous, whereas in most unicellular eukaryotes the identification of orthologs is impaired probably due to evolutionary sequence divergence. However, the ciliated protozoan Paramecium allowed us to prognosticate six groups, with a total of 34 genes, encoding proteins with characteristics typical of InsP₃ and ryanodine receptors by BLAST search of the Paramecium database. We here report that these Ca²⁺-release channels may display all or only some of the characteristic

SUBMITTER: Ladenburger EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3213138 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature