Abstract 3044 Allosteric Regulation of a Synaptic Vesicle Glutamate Transporter

The goal of this work is to understand how the properties of the vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUTs) contribute to their role in excitatory transmission. In addition to the VGLUTs, which mediate glutamate flux down the electrochemical gradient, the SLC17 family of anion carriers includes members that mediate H+ cotransport. We have identified the residues that mediate H+ coupling in a bacterial SLC17 H+ cotransporter and most of these residues are highly conserved in other family members including the VGLUTs.