title: A possible CO2 conducting and concentrating mechanism in plant stomata SLAC1 channel.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The plant SLAC1 is a slow anion channel in the membrane of stomatal guard cells, which controls the turgor pressure in the aperture-defining guard cells, thereby regulating the exchange of water vapour and photosynthetic gases in response to environmental signals such as drought, high levels of carbon dioxide, and bacterial invasion. Recent study demonstrated that bicarbonate is a small-molecule activator of SLAC1. Higher CO(2) and HCO(3)(-) concentration activates S-type anion channel currents in wild-type Arabidopsis guard cells. Based on the SLAC1 structure a theoretical model is derived to illustrate the activation of bicarbonate to SLAC1 channel. Meanwhile a possible CO(2) conducting and concentrating mechanism of the SLAC1 is proposed.
  
  
  METHODS
  The homology structure of Arabidopsis thaliana SLAC1 (AtSLAC1) provides the structural basis for study of the conducting and concentrating mechanism of carbon dioxide in SLAC1 channels. The pK(a) values of ionizable amino acid side chains in AtSLAC1 are calculated using software PROPKA3.0, and the concentration of CO(2) and anion HCO(3)(-) are computed based on the chemical equilibrium theory.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The AtSLAC1 is modeled as a five-region channel with different pH values. The top and bottom layers of channel are the alkaline residue-dominated regions, and in the middle of channel there is the acidic region surrounding acidic residues His332. The CO(2) concentration is enhanced around 10(4) times by the pH difference between these regions, and CO(2) is stored in the hydrophobic region, which is a CO(2) pool. The pH driven CO(2) conduction from outside to inside balances the back electromotive force and maintain the influx of anions (e.g. Cl(-) and NO(3)(-)) from inside to outside. SLAC1 may be a pathway providing CO(2) for photosynthesis in the guard cells.
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Research Center for Non-Food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, China. qishi_du@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Qi-Shi
authors.initials: QS
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Xina-Wei
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Cheng-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ri-Bo
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000838:Anions / Q000378:metabolism; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001639:Bicarbonates / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D017136:Ion Transport; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D054046:Plant Stomata / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D000838:Anions; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D001639:Bicarbonates; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C528438:SLAC1 protein, Arabidopsis; D002245:Carbon Dioxide