A potassium channel protein encoded by chlorella virus PBCV-1.

The large chlorella virus PBCV-1, which contains double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), encodes a 94-codon open reading frame (ORF) that contains a motif resembling the signature sequence of the pore domain of potassium channel proteins. Phylogenetic analyses of the encoded protein, Kcv, indicate a previously unidentified type of potassium channel. The messenger RNA encoded by the ORF leads to functional expression of a potassium-selective conductance in Xenopus laevis oocytes. The channel blockers amantadine and barium, but not cesium, inhibit this conductance, in addition to virus plaque formation. Thus, PBCV-1 encodes the first known viral protein that functions as a potassium-selective channel and is essential in the virus life cycle.

14-3-3 proteins regulate the potassium channel KAT1 by dual modes.

KAT1 is a cloned plant potassium channel belonging to the superfamily of Shaker-like Kv channels. Previous studies have shown that 14-3-3 proteins significantly increase KAT1 current by modifying the channel open probability. Employing a 14-3-3 scavenger construct to lower the long-term availability of endogenous 14-3-3 proteins, we found that 14-3-3 proteins not only control the voltage dependency of the channel but also the number of channels in the plasma membrane.

Genetic interactions between ABA, ethylene and sugar signaling pathways.

The identification of genes through mutant screens is beginning to reveal the structure of a number of signaling pathways in plants. In the past year, genes that determine the plant's response to the hormones ethylene and abscisic acid have also been shown to be involved in sugar sensing in early seedlings. These results suggest that hormone signaling and carbon homeostasis are tightly coupled but that the architecture of these interactions is complex. Part of this complexity may be because some genetic screens on exogenous compounds produce signaling linkages that are not necessarily pertinent under normal growth conditions. Because many of the genes identified in these screens are cloned, the relevance of these interactions can now be unraveled at the molecular level.

The molecular physiology of ammonium uptake and retrieval.

Plants are able to take up ammonium from the soil, or through symbiotic interactions with microorganisms, via the root system. Using functional complementation of yeast mutants, it has been possible to identify a new class of membrane proteins, the ammonium transporter/methylammonium permease (AMT/MEP) family, that mediate secondary active ammonium uptake in eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms. In plants, the AMT gene family can be subdivided according to their amino-acid sequences into three subfamilies: a large subfamily of AMT1 genes and two additional subfamilies each with single members (LeAMT1;3 from tomato and AtAMT2;1 from Arabidopsis thaliana). These transporters vary especially in their kinetic properties and regulatory mechanism. High-affinity transporters are induced in nitrogen-starved roots, whereas other transporters may be considered as the 'work horses' that are active when conditions are conducive to ammonium assimilation. The expression of several AMTs in root hairs further supports a role in nutrient acquisition. These studies provide basic information that will be needed for the dissection of nitrogen uptake by plants at the molecular level and for determining the role of individual AMTs in nutrient uptake and potentially in nutrient efficiency.

Voltage-dependence of virus-encoded miniature K+ channel Kcv.

Kcv is a K+-selective channel encoded by the Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus 1 (PBVC-1). Expression of this protein, so far the smallest known functional K+ channel, in Xenopus oocytes reveals an instantaneous and a time-dependent component during voltage-clamp steps. These two components have an identical sensitivity to the inhibitor amantadine, implying that they reflect distinct kinetic features of the same channel. About 70% of the channels are always open; at hyperpolarizing voltages the time-dependent channels (30%) open in a voltage-dependent manner reaching half-maximal activation at about ?70 mV. At both extreme positive and negative voltages the open-channel conductance decreases in a voltage-dependent manner. To examine the mechanism underlying the voltage-dependence of Kcv we neutralized the two charged amino acids in the lipophilic N-terminus. However, this double mutation had no effect on the voltage-dependence of the channel, ruling against the possibility that these charged amino acids represent a membrane-embedded voltage sensor. We have considered whether a block by external divalent cations is involved in the voltage-dependence of the channel. The Kcv current was increased about 4-fold on reduction of external Ca2+ concentration by a factor of ten. This pronounced increase in current was observed on lowering Ca2+ but not Mg2+ and was voltage-independent. These data indicate a Ca2+-selective, but voltage-independent mechanism for regulation of channel conductance.

Three functional transporters for constitutive, diurnally regulated, and starvation-induced uptake of ammonium into Arabidopsis roots.

Ammonium and nitrate are the prevalent nitrogen sources for growth and development of higher plants. 15N-uptake studies demonstrated that ammonium is preferred up to 20-fold over nitrate by Arabidopsis plants. To study the regulation and complex kinetics of ammonium uptake, we isolated two new ammonium transporter (AMT) genes and showed that they functionally complemented an ammonium uptake-deficient yeast mutant. Uptake studies with 14C-methylammonium and inhibition by ammonium yielded distinct substrate affinities between

Mutation in pore domain uncovers cation- and voltage-sensitive recovery from inactivation in KAT1 channel.

Effects of threonine substitution by glutamine at position 256 in the pore of the KAT1 channel have been investigated by voltage-clamp, using heterologous gene expression in Xenopus oocytes. The major discrepancy in T256Q from the wild-type channel (wt) was cation specific. While K(+) currents were reduced in a largely scalar fashion, the NH(4)(+) current exhibited slow, voltage-dependent inhibition during hyperpolarization. The same effects could be induced in wt, or intensified in T256Q, by addition of the impermeant cation methylammonium (MA(+)) to the bath. This stresses that both the mutation and MA(+) affect a mechanism already present in the wt. Assuming that current inhibition could be described as entry of the channel into an inactive state, we modeled in both wt and in T256Q the relaxation kinetics of the clamp currents by a C-O-I gating scheme, where C (closed) and I (inactivated) are nonconductive states, and O is an open state allowing K(+) and NH(4)(+) passage. The key reaction is the transition I-O. This cation-sensitive transition step ensures release of the channel from the inactive state and is approximately 30 times smaller in T256Q compared to wt. It can be inhibited by external MA(+) and is stimulated strongly by K(+) and weakly by NH(4)(+). This sensitivity of gating to external cations may prevent K(+) leakage from cation-starved cells.