Using heterologous expression systems to characterize potassium and sodium transport activities

Alonso Rodríguez1, Begoña Benito, Olivier Cagnac

  • 1Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. alonso.rodriguez@upm.es

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One example of how cells use the energy contained in electrochemical gradients is demonstrated by glucose transport into cells. The ion vital to this process is sodium (Na+), which is typically present in higher concentrations extracellularly than in the cytosol. Such a concentration difference is due, in part, to the action of an enzyme “pump” embedded in the cellular membrane that actively expels Na+ from a cell. Importantly, as this pump contributes to the high concentration of...
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