A key objective in current neurobiological research is to understand how excitable cells such as neurons are able to both generate and utilize ionic gradients across their membranes. A better understanding of the mechanisms which regulate the ionic permeability of excitable cells will be gained from a characterization of the proteins involved in synaptic transmission and ion discharge. Neuroactive toxins can play important roles both in understanding the electrophysiological effects of specific ion channels and in isolating and characterizing the proteins involved in signal transduction. We propose to clone and express the gene which encodes a potent invertebrate neurotoxin found in the venom of the predacious mite, Pyemotes tritici. Availability of sufficient quantities of this toxin for general neurobiological studies have been severly limited due to the inconvenience of rearing large quantities of mites and the difficulty in obtaining venom from such small organisms. By inserting the mite toxin gene into an insect virus-based expression vector system, we should be able to obtain a convenient and abundant source of this toxin for further studies including analysis of its mode of action and the characterization of its target protein.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS026109-03
Application #
3411752
Study Section
Neurology C Study Section (NEUC)
Project Start
1988-05-01
Project End
1992-04-30
Budget Start
1990-05-01
Budget End
1992-04-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1990
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Georgia
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Athens
State
GA
Country
United States
Zip Code
30602
Tomalski, M D; King, T P; Miller, L K (1993) Expression of hornet genes encoding venom allergen antigen 5 in insects. Arch Insect Biochem Physiol 22:303-13
Tomalski, M D; Hutchinson, K; Todd, J et al. (1993) Identification and characterization of tox21A: a mite cDNA encoding a paralytic neurotoxin related to TxP-I. Toxicon 31:319-26
Carbonell, L F; Hodge, M R; Tomalski, M D et al. (1988) Synthesis of a gene coding for an insect-specific scorpion neurotoxin and attempts to express it using baculovirus vectors. Gene 73:409-18