biomolecules Review A Comparative Perspective on Functionally-Related, Intracellular Calcium Channels: The Insect Ryanodine and Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptors Umut Toprak 1,* , Cansu Do˘gan 1 and Dwayne Hegedus 2,3 1 Molecular Entomology Laboratory, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Ankara 06110, Turkey;
[email protected] 2 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0X2, Canada;
[email protected] 3 Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8, Canada * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: Calcium (Ca2+) homeostasis is vital for insect development and metabolism, and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a major intracellular reservoir for Ca2+. The inositol 1,4,5- triphosphate receptor (IP3R) and ryanodine receptor (RyR) are large homotetrameric channels associated with the ER and serve as two major actors in ER-derived Ca2+ supply. Most of the knowledge on these receptors derives from mammalian systems that possess three genes for each receptor. These studies have inspired work on synonymous receptors in insects, which encode a single IP3R and RyR. In the current review, we focus on a fundamental, common question: “why do insect cells possess two Ca2+ channel receptors in the ER?”. Through a comparative approach, this review covers the discovery of RyRs and IP3Rs, examines their structures/functions, the pathways that they interact with, and their Citation: Toprak, U.; Do˘gan,C.; potential as target sites in pest control. Although insects RyRs and IP3Rs share structural similarities, Hegedus, D. A Comparative they are phylogenetically distinct, have their own structural organization, regulatory mechanisms, Perspective on Functionally-Related, and expression patterns, which explains their functional distinction.