Plant-specific cation/H+ exchanger 17 and its homologs are endomembrane K+ transporters with roles in protein sorting.

ABSTRACT: The complexity of intracellular compartments in eukaryotic cells evolved to provide distinct environments to regulate processes necessary for cell proliferation and survival. A large family of predicted cation/proton exchangers (CHX), represented by 28 genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, are associated with diverse endomembrane compartments and tissues in plants, although their roles are poorly understood. We expressed a phylogenetically related cluster of CHX genes, encoded by CHX15-CHX20, in yeast and bacterial cells engineered to lack multiple cation-handling mechanisms. Of these, CHX16-CHX20 were implicated in pH homeostasis because their expression rescued the alkaline pH-sensitive growth phenotype of the host yeast strain. A smaller subset, CHX17-CHX19, also conferred tolerance to hygromy

SUBMITTER: Chanroj S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3190763 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature