By Melissa L. Amrein, Charles Soong, and Ningjian Liang

Melissa Lee Fen Amrein is doing a MSc. at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Charles Soong a PhD student in the Department of Pathology at the University of British Columbia, studying cancer genomics and DNA repair. Ningjian Liang is PhD. candidate in the Department of Food, Nutrition and Health at the University of British Columbia.

UPREGULATED MEMBRANE EXPRESSION OF A CONSERVED VOLTAGE-GATED SODIUM CHANNEL, Nav1.4a AND ELECTRICAL ORGAN DISCHARGE IN ELECTRIC MOUSE, P. pikachu

– – – PLOS BIOLOGY (March 2013). Vol 11 Issue 3. e1001501 p1-6 pdf download ABSTRACT Electrocytes contain membrane proteins that allow the polarization of the plasma membrane, thereby allowing the generation of electricity in animals. It has been long established how electricity is generated in the electric eel, but recent studies found similar electrocytes to be active in electric mice. We aimed to study the basis behind electric discharge in a land animal. We found that the voltage-gated sodium channel, Nav1.4a, was expressed in electric organs of the electric mouse, Pokemon pikachu and the electric eel, Electrophorus electricus. However, Nav1.4a…