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Expressing and Characterizing Mechanosensitive Channels in Xenopus Oocytes

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Plant Gravitropism

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1309))

Abstract

The oocytes of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) comprise one of the most widely used membrane protein expression systems. While frequently used for studies of transporters and ion channels, the application of this system to the study of mechanosensitive ion channels has been overlooked, perhaps due to a relative abundance of native expression systems. Recent advances, however, have illustrated the advantages of the oocyte system for studying plant and bacterial mechanosensitive channels. Here we describe in detail the methods used for heterologous expression and characterization of bacterial and plant mechanosensitive channels in Xenopus oocytes.

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Acknowledgements

Our work on bacterial and plant MSC electrophysiology was supported in part by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds through grant number R01GM084211 to Doug Rees, Rob Phillips and E.S.H. from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health, and continues under NIH 2R01GM084211 to D.R., R.P. and E.S.H. and N.S.F. MCB-1253103 to E.S.H. We would also like to acknowledge Daniel Schachtman for initial training in the use of oocytes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis, One Brookings Drive, Mail Code 1137, Saint Louis, MO, 63130, USA

    Grigory Maksaev & Elizabeth S. Haswell

Authors
  1. Grigory Maksaev
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  2. Elizabeth S. Haswell
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Correspondence to Elizabeth S. Haswell .

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  1. The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Inc., Ardmore, Oklahoma, USA

    Elison B. Blancaflor

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Maksaev, G., Haswell, E.S. (2015). Expressing and Characterizing Mechanosensitive Channels in Xenopus Oocytes. In: Blancaflor, E. (eds) Plant Gravitropism. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1309. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2697-8_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2697-8_13

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2696-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2697-8

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