Plant K+ channel alpha-subunits assemble indiscriminately

In plants a large diversity of inwardly rectifying K+ channels (K-in channels) has been observed between tissues and species. However, only three different types of voltage-dependent plant K+ uptake channel subfamilies have been cloned so tar. they relate either to KAT1, AKT1, or AtKC1. To explore the mechanisms underlying the channel diversity, we investigated the assembly of plant inwardly rectifying alpha-subunits. cRNA encoding five different K+ channel alpha-subunits of the three subfamilies (KAT1, KST1, AKT1, SKT1, and AtKC1) which were isolated from different tissues, species, and plant families (Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum tuberosum) was reciprocally co-injected into Xenopus oocytes. We identified plant K+ channels as multimers. Moreover, using K+ channel mutants expressing different sensitivities to voltage, Cs+, Ca2+, and H+, we could prove heteromers on the basis of their altered voltage and modulator susceptibility. We discovered that, in contrast to animal K+ channel alpha-subunits, functional aggregates of plant K+, channel alpha-subunits assembled indiscriminately. Interestingly, AKT-type channels from A. thaliana and S. tuberosum, which as homomers were electrically silent in oocytes after co-expression, mediated K+ currents. Our findings suggest that K+ channel diversity in plants results from nonselective heteromerization of different alpha-subunits, and thus depends on the spatial segregation of individual alpha-subunit pools and the degree of temporal overlap and kinetics of expression.