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The Journal of Neuroscience, March 23, 2005, 25(12):3209-3218; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4194-04.2005
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Cellular/Molecular
Four Different Subunits Are Essential for Expressing the Synaptic Glutamate Receptor at Neuromuscular Junctions of Drosophila
Gang Qin,1
Tobias Schwarz,1
Robert J. Kittel,1
Andreas Schmid,1
Tobias M. Rasse,1
Dennis Kappei,1
Evgeni Ponimaskin,2
Manfred Heckmann,3 and
Stephan J. Sigrist1
1European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen, Max-Planck-Society, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany, 2Departments of Neurophysiology and Sensory Physiology, Medical School at the University of Göttingen, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany, and 3Physiologisches Institut, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
Three ionotropic glutamate receptor subunits, designated GluRIIA, GluRIIB, and GluRIII, have been identified at neuromuscular junctions of Drosophila. Whereas GluRIIA and GluRIIB are redundant for viability, it was shown recently that GluRIII is essential for both the synaptic localization of GluRIIA and GluRIIB and the viability of Drosophila. Here we identify a fourth and a fifth subunit expressed in the neuromuscular system, which we name GluRIID and GluRIIE. Both new subunits we show to be necessary for survival. Moreover, both GluRIID and GluRIIE are required for the synaptic expression of all other glutamate receptor subunits. All five subunits are interdependent for receptor function, synaptic receptor expression, and viability. This indicates that synaptic glutamate receptors incorporate the GluRIII, GluRIID, and GluRIIE subunit together with either GluRIIA or GluRIIB at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction. At this widely used model synapse, the assembly of four different subunits to form an individual glutamate receptor channel may thus be obligatory. This study opens the way for a further characterization of in vivo glutamate receptor assembly and trafficking using the efficient genetics of Drosophila.
Key words: Drosophila; synapse; neurotransmission; glutamate receptor; subunit composition; neuromuscular junction
Received Oct 8, 2004;
revised January 22, 2005;
accepted February 14, 2005.
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