TY - JOUR A1 - Voelker, Camilla A1 - Gomez-Porras, Judith Lucia A1 - Becker, Dirk A1 - Hamamoto, Shin A1 - Uozumi, Nobuyuki A1 - Gambale, Franco A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Czempinski, Katrin A1 - Dreyer, Ingo T1 - Roles of tandem-pore K plus channels in plants : a puzzle still to be solved N2 - The group of voltage-independent K+ channels in Arabidopsis thaliana consists of six members, five tandem-pore channels (TPK1-TPK5) and a single K-ir-like channel (KCO3). All TPK/KCO channels are located at the vacuolar membrane except for TPK4, which was shown to be a plasma membrane channel in pollen. The vacuolar channels interact with 14-3-3 proteins (also called General Regulating Factors, GRFs), indicating regulation at the level of protein-protein interactions. Here we review current knowledge about these ion channels and their genes, and highlight open questions that need to be urgently addressed in future studies to fully appreciate the physiological functions of these ion channels. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/issn?DESCRIPTOR=PRINTISSN&VALUE=1435-8603 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1438-8677.2010.00353.x SN - 1435-8603 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Becker, Dirk A1 - Geiger, D. A1 - Dunkel, M. A1 - Roller, A. A1 - Bertl, Adam A1 - Latz, A. A1 - Carpaneto, Armando A1 - Dietrich, Peter A1 - Roelfsema, M. R. G. A1 - Voelker, C. A1 - Schmidt, D. A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Czempinski, Katrin A1 - Hedrich, R. T1 - AtTPK4, an Arabidopsis tandem-pore K+ channel, poised to control the pollen membrane voltage in a pH- and Ca2+- dependent manner N2 - The Arabidopsis tandem-pore K+ (TPK) channels displaying four transmembrane domains and two pore regions share structural homologies with their animal counterparts of the KCNK family. In contrast to the Shaker-like Arabidopsis channels (six transmembrane domains/one pore region), the functional properties and the biological role of plant TPK channels have not been elucidated yet. Here, we show that AtTPK4 (KCO4) localizes to the plasma membrane and is predominantly expressed in pollen. AtTPK4 (KCO4) resembles the electrical properties of a voltage-independent K+ channel after expression in Xenopus oocytes and yeast. Hyperpolarizing as well as depolarizing membrane voltages elicited instantaneous K+ currents, which were blocked by extracellular calcium and cytoplasmic protons. Functional complementation assays using a K+ transport-deficient yeast confirmed the biophysical and pharmacological properties of the AtTPK4 channel. The features of AtTPK4 point toward a role in potassium homeostasis and membrane voltage control of the growing pollen tube. Thus, AtTPK4 represents a member of plant tandem-pore-K+ channels, resembling the characteristics of its animal counterparts as well as plant-specific features with respect to modulation of channel activity by acidosis and calcium Y1 - 2004 SN - 0027-8424 ER -