title: Alkali cation exchangers: roles in cellular homeostasis and stress tolerance.
abstract: Uptake and translocation of cations play essential roles in plant nutrition, signal transduction, growth, and development. Among them, potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+) have been the focus of numerous physiological studies because K+ is an essential macronutrient and the most abundant inorganic cation in plant cells, whereas Na+ toxicity is a principal component of the deleterious effects associated with salinity stress. Although the homeostasis of these two ions was long surmised to be fine tuned and under complex regulation, the myriad of candidate membrane transporters mediating their uptake, intracellular distribution, and long-distance transport is nevertheless perplexing. Recent advances have shown that, in addition to their function in vacuolar accumulation of Na+, proteins of the NHX family are endosomal transporters that also play critical roles in K+ homeostasis, luminal pH control, and vesicle trafficking. The plasma membrane SOS1 protein from Arabidopsis thaliana, a highly specific Na+/H+ exchanger that catalyses Na+ efflux and that regulates its root/shoot distribution, has also revealed surprising interactions with K+ uptake mechanisms by roots. Finally, the function of individual members of the large CHX family remains largely unknown but two CHX isoforms, AtCHX17 and AtCH23, have been shown to affect K+ homeostasis and the control of chloroplast pH, respectively. Recent advances on the understanding of the physiological processes that are governed by these three families of cation exchangers are reviewed and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Reina Mercedes 10, Seville 41012, Spain. pardo@cica.es
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pardo
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cubero
authors.forename: Eduardo O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Leidi
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Quintero
mesh_terms: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D011992:Endosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008954:Models, Biological; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism*; D017923:Sodium-Hydrogen Exchangers / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; C477653:SOS1 protein, Arabidopsis; D017923:Sodium-Hydrogen Exchangers; D012964:Sodium; D011188:Potassium