New Schizosaccharomyces pombe mutants with defective potassium uptake useful for expressing human eag related gene in screening assays for potassium ion channel modulators

摘要

New Schizosaccharomyces pombe mutants with defective potassium uptake are obtainable by introducing one or more selectable markers (auxotrophy and/or resistance markers) into the gene for potassium transporter TKHp and/or Trk2p. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a genetically modified S. pombe strain that expresses human eag related gene (HERG) but does not express endogenous TKHp or Trk2p; (2) a screening assay for specific modulators of HERG potassium ion channel, comprising growing an S. pombe strain of type (1) in the presence and absence of a test substance and measuring any change in potassium transport.