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Molecular cloning of G protein α subunits from the central nervous system of the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis
Author(s) -
Knol Jaco C.,
Weidemann Wolfgang,
Planta Rudi J.,
Vreugdenhil Erno,
van Heerikhuizen Harm
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(92)81474-z
Subject(s) - lymnaea stagnalis , lymnaea , biology , snail , microbiology and biotechnology , complementary dna , central nervous system , protein subunit , signal transduction , neuroscience , genetics , gene , ecology
The central nervous system of the pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis , contains many large, identified neurons which can be easily manipulated making it an advantageous model system to elucidate in vivo the architecture of neuronal signal transduction pathways. We have isolated three cDNA clones encoding G protein α subunits that are expressed in the Lymnaea CNS, i.e. Gα o , Gα, and Gα i . The deduced proteins exhibit a very high degree of sequence identity to their vertebrate and invertebrate counterparts. The strong conservation or G protein α subunits suggests that functional insights into G protein‐mediated signalling routes obtained through the experimental amenability of the Lymnaea CNS will have relevance for similar pathways in the mammalian brain.