Identification of a Dopamine Receptor from Caenorhabditis Elegans

The neurotransmitter dopamine regulates locomotion and egg laying in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We have cloned a cDNA encoding the C. elegans G protein-coupled receptor (CeDOP1). The deduced amino acid sequence of the cloned cDNA shows high sequence similarities with D1-like dopamine receptors from other species. Three splice variants that differ in the length of the predicted third intracellular loop and C-terminal tail were identified. COS-7 cells transiently transfected with CeDOP1 showed high affinity binding to [(125)I]iodo-lysergic acid diethylamide (K(D)=3.43 +/- 0.83 nM). Dopamine showed the highest affinity (K(i)=0.186 microM) for this receptor among several vertebrate and invertebrate amine neurotransmitters tested, suggesting that the natural ligand for this receptor is dopamine.