A potassium channel protein encoded by chlorella virus PBCV-1
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Authors
The large chlorella virus PBCV-1, which contains double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), encodes a 94-codon open reading frame (ORF) that contains a motif resembling the signature sequence of the pore domain of potassium channel proteins. Phylogenetic analyses of the encoded protein, Kcv, indicate a previously unidentified type of potassium channel. The messenger RNA encoded by the ORF leads to functional expression of a potassium-selective conductance in Xenopus laevis oocytes. The channel blockers amantadine and barium, but not cesium, inhibit this conductance, in addition to virus plaque formation. Thus, PBCV-1 encodes the first known viral protein that functions as a potassium-selective channel and is essential in the virus life cycle.
| Original language | English | 
|---|---|
| Journal | Science | 
| Volume | 287 | 
| Issue number | 5458 | 
| Pages (from-to) | 1641-1644 | 
| Number of pages | 4 | 
| ISSN | 0036-8075 | 
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 03.03.2000 | 
| Externally published | Yes | 
