Potassium voltage-gated (Kv) channels need to detect and respond to rapidly changing ionic concentrations in their environment. With an essential role in regulating electric signaling, they would be expected to be optimal sensors that evolved to predict the ionic concentrations. To explore these assumptions, we use statistical mechanics in conjunction with information theory to model how animal Kv channels respond to changes in potassium concentrations in their environment. By estimating mutual information in representative Kv channel types across a variety of environments, we find two things. First, under a wide variety of environments, there is an optimal gating current that maximizes mutual information between the sensor and the environment. Second, as Kv channels evolved, they have moved towards decreasing mutual information with the environment. This either suggests that Kv channels do not need to act as sensors of their environment or that Kv channels have other functionalities that interfere with their role as sensors of their environment.

中文翻译：

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并非最佳选择：钾电压门控通道中互信息的演化

钾电压门控（Kv）通道需要检测并响应其环境中快速变化的离子浓度。由于它们在调节电信号传导中起着至关重要的作用，因此有望成为演变为预测离子浓度的最佳传感器。为了探索这些假设，我们使用统计力学与信息论相结合来对动物Kv通道如何响应其环境中钾浓度的变化进行建模。通过估计各种环境中具有代表性的Kv频道类型的互信息，我们发现了两件事。首先，在各种各样的环境下，存在一个最佳的门控电流，该电流可使传感器和环境之间的相互信息最大化。其次，随着Kv频道的发展，他们已努力减少与环境的相互信息。这表明Kv通道不需要充当其环境的传感器，或者Kv通道具有其他功能会干扰其作为环境传感器的作用。