The procedures for oocyte preparation, cRNA synthesis and injection were identical to those described previously [31 (link)]. cRNA was prepared by in vitro transcription with T7 polymerase using the mMESSAGE mMACHINE high yield capped RNA kit (Ambion, Austin, TX). To enhance the expression of BgNav2-1 and BgNav1-1a and the mutant channels, their cRNAs (2-5 ng/oocyte) were co-injected into oocytes with tipE cRNA from Drosophila melanogaster in a 1:1 ratio [32 (link), 33 (link)]