K + Current Diversity Is Produced by an Extended Gene Family Conserved in Drosophila and Mouse

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Abstract
The Drosophila Shaker gene on the X chromosome has three sister genes, Shal , Shab , and Shaw , which map to the second and third chromosomes. This extended gene family encodes voltage-gated potassium channels with widely varying kinetics (rate of macroscopic current activation and inactivation) and voltage sensitivity of steady-state inactivation. The differences in the currents of the various gene products are greater than the differences produced by alternative splicing of the Shaker gene. In Drosophila , the transient (A current) subtype of the potassium channel ( Shaker and Shal ) and the delayed-rectifier subtype ( Shab and Shaw ) are encoded by homologous genes, and there is more than one gene for each subtype of channel. Homologs of Shaker , Shal , Shab , and Shaw are present in mammals; each Drosophila potassium-channel gene may be represented as a multigene subfamily in mammals.

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