Voltage and Calcium Mediate E. Coli Mechanosensation

Voltage-gated calcium flux mediates Escherichia coli mechanosensation.

Electrically excitable cells harness voltage-coupled calcium influx to transmit intracellular signals, typically studied in neurons and cardiomyocytes. Despite intense study in higher organisms, investigations of voltage and calcium signaling in bacteria have lagged due to their small size and a lack of sensitive tools. Only recently were bacteria shown to modulate their membrane potential on t...

High efficiency transformation of E. coli by high voltage electroporation

E. coli can be transformed to extremely high efficiencies by subjecting a mixture of cells and DNA to brief but intense electrical fields of exponential decay waveform (electroporation). We have obtained 10(9) to 10(10) transformants/micrograms with strains LE392 and DH5 alpha, and plasmids pUC18 and pBR329. The process is highly dependent on two characteristics of the electrical pulse: the ele...

Voltage-gated calcium channels mediate intracellular calcium increase in weaver dopaminergic neurons during stimulation of D2 and GABAB receptors.

The weaver (wv) mutation affects the pore-forming region of the inwardly rectifying potassium channel (GIRK) leading to degeneration of cerebellar granule and midbrain dopaminergic neurons. The mutated channel (wvGIRK) loses its potassium selectivity, allowing sodium (Na+) and possibly calcium ions (Ca2+) to enter the cell. Here we performed whole cell patch-clamp recordings combined with micro...

N- and L-Type Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels Mediate Fast Calcium Transients in Axonal Shafts of Mouse Peripheral Nerve

In the peripheral nervous system (PNS) a vast number of axons are accommodated within fiber bundles that constitute peripheral nerves. A major function of peripheral axons is to propagate action potentials along their length, and hence they are equipped with Na(+) and K(+) channels, which ensure successful generation, conduction and termination of each action potential. However little is known ...

Cardiac Myocytes and Mechanosensation