The shaker (Sh) gene, when mutated, causes a variety of atypical behaviors in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.
[5] The Sh gene plays a part in the operation of potassium ion channels, which are integral membrane proteins and are essential to the correct functioning of the cell.
A working shaker channel is voltage-dependent and has four subunits, which form a pore through which ions flow, carrying type-A potassium current (IA).
A mutation in the Sh gene reduces the conductance of charge across the neuron since the channels do not work, causing the severe phenotypical aberrations mentioned above.
When the conformational change is enacted, the BrMT sites on adjacent subunits are also affected, resulting in a widespread delayed activation of the K channel.