Abstract
Experimental and computational studies of plant ion channels
Highlights
The yields and nutritional profiles of crops are affected by their intake of nutrients
Transport proteins represent ways for molecules to pass across the membrane, and regulate which ones gain access into the plant cell
High salt concentrations are a problem for most plants
Summary
The yields and nutritional profiles of crops are affected by their intake of nutrients. To study what role the cation coordination site plays in the ion conduction of OsHKT2;2, various residues (specific amino acids which form the building blocks of a protein) were mutated and the mutants were experimentally characterised for changes in functionality. IDENTIFICATION OF A CATION COORDINATION SITE Analyses of the contact frequency between ions and amino acids during molecular dynamics simulations enabled identification of a potential extracellular cation coordination site located in the outer extracellular protein region some distance (~20 Å) from the pore entrance of OsHKT2;2 Coordination sites like this will attract cations (e.g. Na+ and K+) and guide them to the entrance. Like this, on the extracellular protein surface could help show how different ion species may affect channel conduction behaviour even before entering the pore. Research at CBSM is contributing to the understanding of how Na+ and/or K+ transporting proteins work, which help to explain how plants react under salt stress situations and how they cope with increased Na+ ions in the plant cell for example
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