Regulation of potassium uptake in Caulobacter crescentus.

ABSTRACT: Potassium (K⁺) is an essential physiological element determining membrane potential, intracellular pH, osmotic/turgor pressure, and protein synthesis in cells. Here, we describe the regulation of potassium uptake systems in the oligotrophic α-proteobacterium Caulobacter crescentus known as a model for asymmetric cell division. We show that C. crescentus can grow in concentrations from the micromolar to the millimolar range by mainly using two K⁺ transporters to maintain potassium homeostasis, the low-affinity Kup and the high-affinity Kdp uptake systems. When K⁺ is not limiting, we found that the kup gene is essential while kdp inactivation does not impact the growth. In contrast, kdp becomes critical but not essential and

SUBMITTER: Quintero-Yanes A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11411941 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature