In:
mBio, American Society for Microbiology, Vol. 8, No. 4 ( 2017-09-06)
Abstract:
Potassium is essential for every living cell as it is required for the activity for many enzymes and for maintaining the intracellular pH by buffering the negative charge of the nucleic acids. We have studied the adaptation of the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis to life at low potassium concentrations. If the major high-affinity transporters are missing, the bacteria are unable to grow unless they acquire mutations that result in the accumulation of positively charged amino acids such as ornithine, citrulline, and arginine. Supplementation of the medium with these amino acids rescued growth even in the absence of externally added potassium. Moreover, these growth conditions, which the bacteria experience as an extreme potassium limitation, can be overcome by the acquisition of mutations that result in increased expression of the high-affinity potassium transporter KtrAB. Our results indicate that positively charged amino acids can partially take over the function of potassium.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2161-2129
,
2150-7511
DOI:
10.1128/mBio.00861-17
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Society for Microbiology
Publication Date:
2017
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2557172-2