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LettersNomenclature for Ion Channel SubunitsCyclic nucleotide-gated (activated) ion channels are most well known for mediating visual and olfactory signal transductions, but they are also expressed in other cell types and tissues. In native tissues, these channels are heteromultimers, with different heteromers showing distinct nucleotide sensitivity, ion conductance (selectivity), and Ca2+ modulation.Molecular cloning and genome sequencing efforts have revealed the presence of six genes coding for subunits of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels in human and mouse. The initial isolation and functional characterization of these subunits by different laboratories have led to a confusing and occasionally contradictory nomenclature for describing members of this gene family. To make future work on these channels more easily understood, a group of us engaged in the study of these channels have agreed to adopt a common nomenclature. The adopted nomenclature (see the table) for these channel subunits recognizes two phylogenetically distinct subfamilies, CNGA and CNGB, defined by their sequence relationships illustrated in the figure. The members in each subfamily are now numbered to retain as much similarity as possible to previous identifiers. However, notably, the OCNC2/CNGB2/CNG5 subunit is now identified as CNGA4, to convey the phylogenetic relationship between this gene and others of the CNGA subfamily. In the CNGB subfamily, the member expressed in rod photoreceptors, olfactory neurons and other tissues is designated CNGB1, whereas that found in cone photoreceptors and possibly other tissues is CNGB3. In our current nomenclature, the CNGB2 designation is no longer used. This nomenclature is used in two reports in this issue and will be adopted in future publications by the undersigned investigators.
Jonathan Bradley,* Stephan Frings, King-Wai Yau, Randall Reed *To whom correspondence should be addressed. Cosignatories: Martin Biel, Ludwig-Maximilians Universitat München, München, Germany; Elspeth Bruford, HUGO Nomenclature Committee, The Galton Laboratory, University College London; Tsung-Yu Chen, University of California, Davis, CA; Stuart Firestein, Columbia University, New York, NY; Sharona E. Gordon, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Franz Hofmann, Universitat München, München, Germany; Jeffrey W. Karpen, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO; U. Benjamin Kaupp, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Richard H. Kramer, University of California, Berkeley, CA; Emily R. Liman, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; Graeme Lowe, Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA; Lois J. Maltais, MGI Nomenclature Committee, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME; Peter Mombaerts, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY; Steven Munger, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD; John Nagi, University of California, Berkeley, CA; Steven S. Siegelbaum, HHMI and Columbia University, New York, NY; William N. Zagotta, HHMI and University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Frank Zufall, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
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