
“Deathstalker ST 07” by by Ester Inbar, available from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ST.. Licensed under Attribution via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deathstalker_ST_07.JPG#/media/File:Deathstalker_ST_07.JPG
Day 13 has 76 protein-coding genes, including KCNA2 (Kv1.2) and KCNA10 (Kv1.8), encoding two Shaker-type potassium channels used by nerve cells. The name “shaker” comes from the fly Drosophila melanogaster, where the gene was first discovered. Mutations cause the flies’ legs to shake, even when anesthetized.
Shaker-type potassium channels are the target of agitotoxin, a component of the deathstalker scorpion‘s venom.
Go to Day 13 to see rs786205231, a mutation in KCNA2 that has been associated with early onset epilepsy. Note that KCNA2 is an unusual single-exon gene.