OsKAT1 is a short Shaker potassium channel involved in root-to-shoot potassium translocation and contributes to rice grain yield.

ABSTRACT: Shaker potassium channels play essential roles in K⁺ uptake and distribution in plants. Studies on Shaker channels in Arabidopsis have provided a paradigmatic framework, but the rice genome encodes an additional member, OsKAT1, whose function remians poorly defined. OsKAT1-type channels are characterized by an innately short cytosolic C terminus, forming a unique clade of monocot-specific short Shakers that is prevalent in Poaceae species. In rice, OsKAT1 is predominantly expressed in the root stele. Disruption of OsKAT1 (KO mutation) leads to a significant reduction in K⁺ secretion into the xylem sap delivered to the shoot. Patch-clamp experiments on root stele protoplasts of WT and KO plants indicate that OsKAT1 functions as an inward channel. Function

SUBMITTER: Yang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12867649 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature