Loss of calcium-binding protein Cbp53E leads to delayed repolarization of photoreceptor cells in Drosophila

Calcium functions as an important second messenger in a wide variety of intracellular processes. In photoreceptor cells, calcium is involved in activation, deactivation, and adaptation in response to light stimuli. Calcium-binding protein 53E (Cbp53E, also known as calbindin-32 or cbn), a protein with 6 EF-Hand domains thought to act as a calcium buffer, was previously identified to have elevated expression levels in the eye of drosophila. While a recent study showed that transgenic flies lacking Cbp53E have aberrant axonal arborization at the neuromuscular junction, nothing is known about the role of Cbp53E in the visual system. We performed electroretinogram (ERG) recordings on Cbp53E mutant flies to test whether eye function was affected. Here, we report that Cbp53E null mutants exhibit a prolonged repolarization (or slow termination) phenotype which can be rescued by expressing Cbp53E in photoreceptor cells. The human homologs Calbindin 2, Calbindin 1, and S100G also rescue the Drosophila ERG phenotype. This supports a role for Cbp53E in regulating intracellular calcium levels of photoreceptor cells and contributing to normal sensory neuron response dynamics in vivo in Drosophila and suggests a similar function in human photoreceptor cells as well.