Heteromultimerization of prokaryotic bacterial cyclic nucleotide-gated (bCNG) ion channels, members of the mechanosensitive channel of small conductance (MscS) superfamily.

ABSTRACT

Traditionally, prokaryotic channels are thought to exist as homomultimeric assemblies, while many eukaryotic ion channels form complex heteromultimers. Here we demonstrate that bacterial cyclic nucleotide-gated channels likely form heteromultimers in vivo. Heteromultimer formation is indicated through channel modeling, pull-down assays, and real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Our observations demonstrate that prokaryotic ion channels can display complex behavior and regulation akin to that of their eukaryotic counterparts.