title: Rice K+ uptake channel OsAKT1 is sensitive to salt stress.
abstract: Potassium ions constitute the most important macronutrients taken up by plants. To unravel the mechanisms of K+ uptake and its sensitivity to salt stress in the model plant rice, we isolated and functionally characterized OsAKT1, a potassium channel homologous to the Arabidopsis root inward rectifier AKT1. OsAKT1 transcripts were predominantly found in the coleoptile and in the roots of young rice seedlings. K+ channel mRNA decreases in response to salt stress, both in the shoot and in the root of 4-day-old rice seedlings. Following expression in HEK293 cells, we were able to characterize OsAKT1 as a voltage-dependent, inward-rectifying K+ channel regulated by extracellular Ca2+ and protons. Patch-clamp studies on rice root protoplasts identified a K+ inward rectifier with similar channel properties as heterologously expressed OsAKT1. In line with the transcriptional downregulation of OsAKT1 in response to salt stress, inward K+ currents were significantly reduced in root protoplasts. Thus, OsAKT1 seems to represent the dominant salt-sensitive K+ uptake channel in rice roots.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Plant Physiology and Biophysics, University of Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 2, 97082, Würzburg, Germany. ifuchs@botanik.uni-wuerzburg.de
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stölzle
authors.forename: Natalya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ivashikina
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hedrich
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019441:Plant Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D024661:Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D036226:Seedlings / Q000378:metabolism; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D024661:Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying; D012965:Sodium Chloride