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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1992 Nov 1;89(21):10484–10488. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.21.10484

Glutamate receptors of Drosophila melanogaster: cloning of a kainate-selective subunit expressed in the central nervous system.

A Ultsch 1, C M Schuster 1, B Laube 1, P Schloss 1, B Schmitt 1, H Betz 1
PMCID: PMC50363  PMID: 1359540

Abstract

We report the isolation and functional characterization of cDNAs encoding a Drosophila kainate-selective glutamate receptor. The deduced mature 964-residue protein (DGluR-I) is 108,482 Da and exhibits significant homology to mammalian glutamate receptor subunits. Injection of DGluR-I cRNA into Xenopus oocytes generated kainate-operated ion channels which were blocked by the selective non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dione and philanthotoxin. DGluR-I transcripts are differentially expressed during Drosophila development and, in late embryogenesis, accumulate in the central nervous system.

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