Stac3 is a component of the excitation–contraction coupling machinery and mutated in Native American myopathy

Excitation–contraction coupling, the process that regulates contractions by skeletal muscles, transduces changes in membrane voltage by activating release of Ca2+ from internal stores to initiate muscle contraction. Defects in excitation–contraction coupling are associated with muscle diseases. Here we identify Stac3 as a novel component of the excitation–contraction coupling machinery. Using a zebrafish genetic screen, we generate a locomotor mutation that is mapped to stac3. We provide electrophysiological, Ca2+ imaging, immunocytochemical and biochemical evidence that Stac3 participates in excitation–contraction coupling in muscles. Furthermore, we reveal that a mutation in human STAC3 is the genetic basis of the debilitating Native American myopathy (NAM). Analysis of NAM stac3 in zebrafish shows that the NAM mutation decreases excitation–contraction coupling. These findings enhance our understanding of both excitation–contraction coupling and the pathology of myopathies.