Coupling of a viral K+-channel with a glutamate-binding-domain highlights the modular design of ionotropic glutamate-receptors

Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) mediate excitatory neuronal signaling in the mammalian CNS. These receptors are critically involved in diverse physiological processes; including learning and memory formation, as well as neuronal damage associated with neurological diseases. Based on partial sequence and structural similarities, these complex cation-permeable iGluRs are thought to descend from simple bacterial proteins emerging from a fusion of a substrate binding protein (SBP) and an inverted potassium (K + )-channel. Here, we fuse the pore module of the viral K + -channel Kcv ATCV-1 to the isolated glutamate-binding domain of the mammalian iGluR subunit GluA1 which is structural homolog to SBPs. The resulting chimera (GluATCV*) is functional and displays the ligand recognition characteristics of GluA1 and the K + -selectivity of Kcv ATCV-1 . These results are consistent with a conserved activation mechanism between a glutamate-binding domain and the pore-module of a K + -channel and support the expected phylogenetic link between the two protein families. Michael Schönrock et al. created a functional chimeric channel composed of the pore domain of the potassium channel, KcvATCV-1, and the glutamate binding domain of the mammalian ionotropic glutamate receptor, GluA1. This chimera recognized glutamate as a ligand while displaying the potassium selectivity of KcvATCV-1; highlighting the modular design of ionotropic glutamate receptors.