Regulation of K⁺ Influx in Barley Roots: Evidence for Direct Control by Internal K⁺

Abstract

Values for plasmalemma influx of K⁺ into excised barley roots, from solutions containing 0.05 mM KCl plus 0.5 mM CaSO₄, were reduced by 50-60% following a 6-h pretreatment period in 50 mM KCl plus 0.05 mM CaSO₄ solution. This reduction of influx, associated with increased internal K⁺ concentration, was independent of DNA, RNA and protein synthesis during the pretreatment period as indicated by its insensitivity to the presence of 5-fluorodeoxyuridine, actinomycin D, cycloheximide, p-fluorophenylalanine or anisomycin in the pretreatment solutions.

Roots of plantlets grown from gamma-irradiated barley seeds, which were incapable of under-going cell division and capable of only limited protein synthesis, were nevertheless able to reduce K⁺ influx values in response to increased internal K⁺ concentration.

The measurement of K⁺ influx from 0.05 mM KCl solutions following pretreatment periods as short as 15 min in 50 mM KCl gave no evidence of any lag period in the development of reduced influx associated with increased internal K⁺ status. The above experiments are discussed in terms of a model for the regulation of K⁺ influx which ascribes a direct 'allosteric' role to internal K⁺ in controlling influx.