Journal
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
Volume 29, Issue 12, Pages 3613-3616Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/molbev/mss182
Keywords
NALCN; Cch1; maximum likelihood; pore motif
Funding
- National Institute of Health [R01GM084879]
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Proteins in the superfamily of voltage-gated ion channels mediate behavior across the tree of life. These proteins regulate the movement of ions across cell membranes by opening and closing a central pore that controls ion flow. The best-known members of this superfamily are the voltage-gated potassium, calcium (Ca-v), and sodium (Na-v) channels, which underlie impulse conduction in nerve and muscle. Not all members of this family are opened by changes in voltage, however. NALCN (NA(+) leak channel nonselective) channels, which encode a voltage-insensitive sodium leak channel, have garnered a growing interest. This study examines the phylogenetic relationship among Na-v/Ca-v voltage-gated and voltage-insensitive channels in the eukaryotic group Opisthokonta, which includes animals, fungi, and their unicellular relatives. We show that NALCN channels diverged from voltage-gated channels before the divergence of fungi and animals and that the closest relatives of NALCN channels are fungal calcium channels, which they functionally resemble.
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