Nucleic acid encoding Nematode dopamine transporter and the protein encoded thereby

The nature of neuronal signaling is substantially similar in all animals, ranging from simple invertebrates to man. Neuronal signals take the form of electrical impulses, generated by a change in electrical potential across the plasma membrane and propagated along the characteristically extended neuron. Individual neurons, however, are separated by gaps known as synapses which present a barrier to neuronal signaling in its electrical form. At the synapse, the signal takes the form of a chemical message relayed by a group of small signaling molecules known as neurotransmitters. Many different types of neurotransmitters have been identified, including dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), -aminobutyric acid (GABA) and serotonin (5HT). A nematode dopamine tansporter cDNA has been cloned, sequenced, and expressed, and provides a convenient screening assay for antiparasitics, as well as psychoactive drugs.