[
Nature,
1994]
One of the most satisfying moments in science is when different lines of investigation converge to yield a beautiful picture that opens up new perspectives. This happened last year when expression cloning of an epithelial sodium channel subunit revealed that the DNA encoding it was significantly similar in sequence to that of certain nematode genes, mutations in which lead to insensitivity to touch, neurodegeneration or both. Three reports on pages 463, 467 and 470 of this issue now suggest that at least three distinct subunits are used to build channel complexes in both mammals and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Further, the new work provides insights into the relationship between subunit structure and function, and demonstrates a remarkable degree of functional conservation between vertebrates and invertebrates.
[
Nature,
1998]
Some species of the nematode worm (Caenorhabditis elegans) are sociable diners, clumping together to share a meal, yet others are more solitary. Why? According to a report by de Bono and Bargmann, these differences can be explained by a change of just one amino acid in a putative neuropeptide receptor.