Abstract
The
Drosophila eag
gene has been shown to regulate neuronal excitability (
Wu et al., 1983
), olfaction (
Dubin et al., 1998
), associative learning (
Griffith et al., 1994
) and larval locomotion (
Wang et al., 2002a
). Not all of the roles of this gene in these processes can be explained by its function as a voltage-gated potassium channel (e.g.
Zhong and Wu, 1991
). In this study, we show that the
eag
gene is spliced in a PKA- and PKC-regulated manner to produce a protein lacking channel domains. This protein, in the context of activated PKA, can engage cellular signaling pathways that alter cell structure. Nuclear localization is necessary for C-terminal-mediated effects, which also require MAPK. The requirement for PKA/PKC activation in the synthesis and function of this novel protein suggests that it may couple membrane events to nuclear signaling to regulate neuronal function on long time scales.