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The gene expression of rice vacuolar tpk channels restore potassium uptake in E. coli mutant straine LB2003

Isayenkov S., Maathuis F.J.M.

SUMMARY. The functionality of some rice TPK channels (OsTPKa and OsTPKb) is not completely justified.  In order to further evaluate the functional features of these channels, two of the three rice isoforms and one Arabidopsis isoform (AtТРК1) were cloned and expressed in the mutant E coli strain – LB2003. The E. coli LB2003 strain lacks K⁺ uptake systems and thus is incapable of growing on low external K⁺ concentrations. The expression of channels in bacteria was confirmed by RT-PCR. Our results show that expression of these channels in the bacterial mutant restored the LB2003 growth on low K⁺ media. The analysis of potassium uptake exhibited elevated levels of K⁺ uptake in the three types of TPK transformants. Our data suggest that these plant vacuolar channels can form functional potassium transport systems in bacterial cells.

Tsitologiya i Genetika 2015, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 3-9

E-mail: stan.isayenkov gmail.com

Isayenkov S., Maathuis F.J.M. The gene expression of rice vacuolar tpk channels restore potassium uptake in E. coli mutant straine LB2003, Tsitol Genet., 2015, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 3-9.