A physiological, biochemical and proteomic characterization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae trk1,2 transport mutants grown under limiting potassium conditions.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants lacking both isoforms of the main plasma membrane potassium transporter display impaired potassium transport and defective growth at limiting concentrations of the cation. Moreover, they are hyperpolarized and have a lower intracellular pH than wild-type. In order to unravel global physiological processes altered in trk1,2 mutants, we have established conditions at which both wild-type and mutants can grow at different rates. Using a combination of physiological, biochemical and proteomic approaches, we show that during growth at suboptimal potassium concentrations, double trk1,2 mutants accumulate less potassium and reach lower yields. In contrast, the mutants maintain increased viability in the stationary phase and retain more potassium. Moreover, the mutants show increased expression of stress-related proteins such as catalase T, thioredoxin peroxidase or hexokinase 2, suggesting that they are better adapted to the additional stress factors associated with entry into stationary growth phase.