K+ transport in plants: physiology and molecular biology.
Potassium (K(+)) is an essential nutrient and the most abundant cation in plant cells. Plants have a wide variety of transport systems for K(+) acquisition, catalyzing K(+) uptake across a wide spectrum of external concentrations, and mediating K(+) movement within the plant as well as its efflux into the environment. K(+) transport responds to variations in external K(+) supply, to the presence of other ions in the root environment, and to a range of plant stresses, via Ca(2+) signaling cascades and regulatory proteins. This review will summarize the molecular identities of known K(+) transporters, and examine how this information supports physiological investigations of K(+) transport and studies of plant stress responses in a changing environment.
Szczerba
Mark W
MW
Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA. mwszczerba@ucdavis.edu
Britto
Dev T
DT
Kronzucker
Herbert J
HJ
D001692:Biological Transport; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000378:metabolism
D015221:Potassium Channels; D011188:Potassium