Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 108, Issue 2, Pages 864-869Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1009777108
Keywords
channel gating; energy limiting condition; phloem reloading; posttranslational regulation; potassium channel
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Funding
- German Science Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) [DR 430/5-1, /5-2]
- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
- Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica de Chile (CONICYT)
- Agropolis Fondation (Reseau Thematique de Recherche Avancee Montpellier) [0803-022]
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The essential mineral nutrient potassium (K+) is the most important inorganic cation for plants and is recognized as a limiting factor for crop yield and quality. Nonetheless, it is only partially understood how K+ contributes to plant productivity. K+ is used as a major active solute to maintain turgor and to drive irreversible and reversible changes in cell volume. K+ also plays an important role in numerous metabolic processes, for example, by serving as an essential cofactor of enzymes. Here, we provide evidence for an additional, previously unrecognized role of K+ in plant growth. By combining diverse experimental approaches with computational cell simulation, we show that K+ circulating in the phloem serves as a decentralized energy storage that can be used to overcome local energy limitations. Posttranslational modification of the phloem-expressed Arabidopsis K+ channel AKT2 taps this potassium battery, which then efficiently assists the plasma membrane H+-ATPase in energizing the transmembrane phloem (re) loading processes.
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