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Evolution of neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, glutamate and their receptors
GOU, Zhiheng; WANG, Xiao & WANG, Wen
Abstract
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate are two important amino acid neurotransmitters widely present in the
nervous systems of mammals, insects, round worm, and platyhelminths, while their receptors are quite diversified across different
animal phyla. However, the evolutionary mechanisms between the two conserved neurotransmitters and their diversified receptors
remain elusive, and antagonistic interactions between GABA and glutamate signal transduction systems, in particular, have begun to
attract significant attention. In this review, we summarize the extant results on the origin and evolution of GABA and glutamate, as
well as their receptors, and analyze possible evolutionary processes and phylogenetic relationships of various GABAs and glutamate
receptors. We further discuss the evolutionary history of Excitatory/Neutral Amino Acid Transporter (EAAT), a transport protein,
which plays an important role in the GABA-glutamate "yin and yang" balanced regulation. Finally, based on current advances, we
propose several potential directions of future research.
Keywords
Gamma-aminobutyric acid; Glutamate; Neurotransmitter; Receptor; Evolution; Yin and yang regulation
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