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Abstract:
K+ channels and ionotropic glutamate receptors are thought to share a common architecture in their transmembrane pores. This oft-cited hypothesis has been derived from sequence comparisons, topology profiling and analogies to a bacterial glutamate receptor with a K+-channel pore. Although none of these arguments provides sufficient evidence for structural kinship, existing structural data and a new pedigree of bacterial glutamate receptors offer strong support. Comparisons of the patterns of pore-lining residues and mapping of functional determinants reveal extensive structural similarities, and new homologs of bacterial glutamate receptors strengthen the evolutionary link between glutamate receptors and K+ channels.
