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Related Experiment Videos

Evolutionary relationship between K(+) channels and symporters.

S R Durell1, Y Hao, T Nakamura

  • 1Laboratory of Experimental and Computational Biology, Division of Basic Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-5677, USA.

Biophysical Journal
|July 29, 1999
PubMed
Summary

Potassium (K+) symporter proteins likely evolved from bacterial K+ channel proteins, with evidence from gene duplication and structural similarities. This evolutionary link is supported by sequence analysis and conservation patterns.

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Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Potassium (K+) transport is crucial for cellular function.
  • K+ channels and symporters are key membrane proteins involved in K+ homeostasis.
  • The evolutionary origins of K+ symporters remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose and provide evidence for the hypothesis that K+ symporter families evolved from bacterial K+ channel proteins.
  • To investigate the structural and sequence homology between bacterial K+ channels and prokaryotic, fungal, and plant K+ symporters.
  • To elucidate the evolutionary pathway involving gene duplication and fusion in the development of K+ symporter structures.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative sequence analysis of K+ channel and symporter protein families.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Utilizing the crystal structure of the Streptomyces lividans K+ channel (KcsA) as a reference.
  • Statistical comparison of numerical profiles from multiple sequence alignments.
  • Analysis of residue conservation patterns.

    • Main Results:

    • Four families of K+ symporters (Trk, KtrAB, Trk1,2, HKT1) show homology to bacterial K+ channels.
    • K+ symporter sequences contain four M1-P-M2 motifs, suggesting origin from a single motif via duplication and fusion.
    • The KtrAB family is evolutionarily closest to the ancestral single-motif protein.
    • Homology is observed between bacterial K+ channel C-termini and subunits of Trk/KtrAB symporters.

    Conclusions:

    • Bacterial K+ channels are the likely evolutionary ancestors of major K+ symporter families.
    • Gene duplication and fusion of a single M1-P-M2 motif from a K+ channel subunit explains the structure of K+ symporters.
    • Sequence and residue conservation patterns support the proposed evolutionary link between K+ channels and symporters.