Stomatal opening represents a major determinant of plant productivity and stress management. Because plants lose water essentially through open stomata, volume control of the pore-forming guard cells represents a key step in the regulation of plant water status. These sensory cells are able to integrate various signals such as light, auxin, abscisic acid, and CO(2). Following signal perception,...

A series of novel resorcin-[4]arenes with extended pi systems have been synthesised and developed as potassium-selective transporters. Resorcin[4]arenes that feature crown ether moieties function as efficient carriers of K+ across bulk liquid membranes showing enhanced selectivity over the other alkali metal ions relative to a model system (benzo[15]crown-5). Incorporation of functionalities su...

The SLC51 organic solute transporter family of transporters is a pair heterodimeric proteins which regulate bile salt movements in the small intestine, duct, and liver, as part enterohepatic circulation [2, 5, 1]. OSTα/OSTβ also expressed steroidogenic cells brain adrenal gland, where it may contribute to steroid sulphate movement [6]. Bile acid transport suggested be facilitative independent s...

Many eukaryotic channels, transporters and receptors are activated by phosphatidyl inositol bisphosphate (PIP(2)) in the membrane, and every member of the eukaryotic inward rectifier potassium (Kir) channel family requires membrane PIP(2) for activity. In contrast, a bacterial homolog (KirBac1.1) is specifically inhibited by PIP(2). We speculate that a key evolutionary adaptation in eukaryotic ...

Renal regulation of total body sodium (Na) plays an important role in volume-dependent blood pressure control through different molecular mechanisms. Gain of renal tubular Na transporter function in different segments is primarily responsible for essential and monogenic forms of hypertension. In this review, we summarize the physiological regulation of the major renal tubular Na transporters an...

How do these plants process their prey? The entrapped struggling animal repeatedly touches the mechanosensors, thus triggering trains of action potentials. This mechano-electrical stimulation of the trap initiates the synthesis of jasmonate-type touch hormones, causing the closed trap to seal hermetically and to flood the forming green stomach with a lytic enzyme cocktail. The insect flesh is c...

Phosphorus is a major nutrient acquired by roots via high-affinity inorganic phosphate (Pi) transporters. In this paper, we describe the tissue-specific regulation of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) Pi-transporter genes by Pi. The encoded peptides of the LePT1 and LePT2 genes belong to a family of 12 membrane-spanning domain proteins and show a high degree of sequence identity to known high...

Saccharomyces cerevisiae senses extracellular amino acids using two members of the family of amino acid transporters, Gap1 or Ssy1; aspects of the latter are reviewed here. Despite resemblance with bona fide transporters, Ssy1 appears unable to facilitate transport. Exposure of yeast to amino acids results in Ssy1-dependent transcriptional induction of several genes, in particular some encoding...