Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Prokaryotic K+ channels: From crystal structures to diversity

Prokaryotic K+ channels: From crystal structures to diversity AbstractThe deep roots and wide branches of the K+-channel family are evident from genome surveys and laboratory experimentation. K+-channel genes are widespread and found in nearly all the free-living bacteria, archaea and eukarya. The conservation of basic structures and mechanisms such as the K+ filter, the gate, and some of the gate's regulatory domains have allowed general insights on animal K+ channels to be gained from crystal structures of prokaryotic channels. Since microbes are the great majority of life's diversity, it is not surprising that microbial genomes reveal structural motifs beyond those found in animals. There are open-reading frames that encode K+-channel subunits with unconventional filter sequences, or regulatory domains of different sizes and numbers not previously known. Parasitic or symbiotic bacteria tend not to have K+ channels, while those showing lifestyle versatility often have more than one K+-channel gene. It is speculated that prokaryotic K+ channels function to allow adaptation to environmental and metabolic changes, although the actual roles of these channels in prokaryotes are not yet known. Unlike enzymes in basic metabolism, K+ channel, though evolved early, appear to play more diverse roles than revealed by animal research. Finding and sorting out these roles will be the goal and challenge of the near future. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png FEMS Microbiology Reviews Oxford University Press

Prokaryotic K+ channels: From crystal structures to diversity

Download PDF
25 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/oxford-university-press/prokaryotic-k-channels-from-crystal-structures-to-diversity-ippHer410U

References (158)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
© 2005 Federation of European Microbiological Societies.
ISSN
0168-6445
eISSN
1574-6976
DOI
10.1016/j.femsre.2005.03.003
pmid
16026885
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractThe deep roots and wide branches of the K+-channel family are evident from genome surveys and laboratory experimentation. K+-channel genes are widespread and found in nearly all the free-living bacteria, archaea and eukarya. The conservation of basic structures and mechanisms such as the K+ filter, the gate, and some of the gate's regulatory domains have allowed general insights on animal K+ channels to be gained from crystal structures of prokaryotic channels. Since microbes are the great majority of life's diversity, it is not surprising that microbial genomes reveal structural motifs beyond those found in animals. There are open-reading frames that encode K+-channel subunits with unconventional filter sequences, or regulatory domains of different sizes and numbers not previously known. Parasitic or symbiotic bacteria tend not to have K+ channels, while those showing lifestyle versatility often have more than one K+-channel gene. It is speculated that prokaryotic K+ channels function to allow adaptation to environmental and metabolic changes, although the actual roles of these channels in prokaryotes are not yet known. Unlike enzymes in basic metabolism, K+ channel, though evolved early, appear to play more diverse roles than revealed by animal research. Finding and sorting out these roles will be the goal and challenge of the near future.

Journal

FEMS Microbiology Reviews – Oxford University Press

Published: Nov 10, 2005

There are no references for this article.