Proton pumps of the plasmalemma of the yeast Rhodotorula gracilis Their coupling to fluxes of potassium and other ions

Coupling of secondary active transport with a deltamu-H+

Most nutrients and ions in bacteria, yeasts, algae, and plants are transported uphill at the expense of a gradient of the electrochemical potential of protons deltamu-H+ (a type of secondary active transport). Diagnosis of such transports rests on the determination of the transmembrane electrical potential difference deltapsi and the difference of pH at the two membrane sides. The behavior of kinetic parameters K(T) (the half-saturation constant) and J(max), (the maximum rate of transport) upon changing driving ion concentrations and electrical potentials may be used to determine the molecular details of the transport reaction. Equilibrium accumulation ratios of driven solutes are expected to be in agreement with the deltapsi and deltapH measured independently, as well as with the Haldane-type expression involving K(T) and J(max). Different stoichiometries of H+/solute, as well as intramembrane effects of pH and deltapsi, may account for some of the observed inconsistencies.

Effects of the physiological state of five yeast species on H(+)-ATPase-related processes

Effects of starvation and glucose preincubation on membrane potential, ATPase-mediated acidification and glutamic acid transport were studied in yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Dipodascus magnusii, Lodderomyces elongisporus and Rhodotorula gracilis. The membrane potential was highest after preincubation with glucose in all species but L. elongisporus and R. gracilis. In all cases the membranes were depolarized in the presence of 20 mmol/L KCl and hyperpolarized with 50 mumol/L diethylstilbestrol (DES). The extracellular acidification caused by addition of glucose was highest after preincubation with glucose in all cases except in R. gracilis where there was none. In all cases except in R. gracilis addition of KCl caused a marked increase in the acidification rate. Addition of DES with glucose caused a large decrease in rate in S. cerevisiae but had much less effect on the other species. Transport of glutamic acid was clearly increased after pretreatment with glucose in S. cerevisiae, S. pombe and D. magnusii (mainly due to enhanced synthesis of the carrier) but actually decreased in R. gracilis and L. elongisporus. Addition of DES had an inhibitory effect in all species but much more pronounced in S. cerevisiae and S. pombe than in others. In general, both the acidification and the transport of glutamate were enhanced after preincubation with glucose but much more so in the semianaerobic species, such as S. cerevisiae, than in the strict aerobes (R. gracilis) where the effect was occasionally negative. There was no relationship between the ATPase-mediated acidification and the membrane potential.

Analysis of the H+/sugar symport in yeast under conditions of depolarized plasma membrane

H+/sugar symport in the obligatory aerobic yeast Rhodotorula glutinis was analyzed under conditions where the plasma membrane was selectively depolarized by the lipophilic cation tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP+). Control experiments showed that this treatment did not impair the transmembrane delta pH, the cell energy charge, and the function of plasma membrane H+-ATPase. The kinetic data were fitted to elementary functions derived from a model constructed on the basis of some simplifying premises for ordered (either C + H+ + S or C + S + H+) and random reaction mechanisms. In addition, the comparison of the kinetic parameters in fully energized and depolarized cells provided information about the free carrier charge. It was concluded that the binding sequence of formation of the ternary carrier/H+/substrate complex follows a random mechanism and that the carrier bears a negative charge.

Dimorphism-associated changes in intracellular pH of Candida albicans

Intracellular pH (pHi) was monitored during pH-regulated dimorphism of Candida albicans using two different methods: (1) by steady-state distribution of propionic acid and (2) by use of polyene antibiotic, nystatin. There was no significant change in pHi during the first 120 min in either bud- or germ tube-forming populations. However, there was a rapid increase around 135 min which also coincided with the time of evagination. The magnitude of increase in pHi was different in the two populations; being 0.44 and 0.14 pH units in bud- and germ tube-forming populations, respectively. In the two diverging populations, the transient increase in pHi was followed by a rapid drop. The sharp rise in pHi of the population destined to form buds was sensitive to orthovanadate and to the depletion of K+ from the medium while this was not the case with germ tube-forming cells. The results suggest that pHi may play an important role in the phenotypic divergence of C. albicans.

Energy efficiency of different mechanistic models for potassium ion uptake in lower eukaryotic cells

Different mechanistic models for potassium ion uptake are analyzed by an equilibrium-thermodynamic formalism in terms of their comparative efficiency in setting chemical potential differences of the potassium ion of different magnitudes across the plasma membrane of lower eukaryotic cells. The possible adaptive advantages for a multimode mechanism(s) operating in alternative modes depending on the physiological and/or environmental conditions of the cells are discussed.

Uptake of L-lysine by a double mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A gap1 can1 mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with a single lysine transport system remaining was used to study detailed kinetics of this transport. Its half-saturation constant was 78 mumol per litre, its maximum rate of transport was 0.29 mumol L-lysine per g dry matter per minute, both parameters being lower by more than an order of magnitude in comparison with the GAP system. The pH optimum lay at very acid values of about 3, the temperature dependence without any transition point showed an activation energy of 48 kJ/mol. The transport was inhibited by common metabolic inhibitors (3'-chlorophenylhydrazonomalononitrile, antimycin, 2-deoxy-D-glucose, sodium arsenate) as well as by a membrane-active one (uranyl nitrate). The specificity of the system was extremely high, none of the natural amino acids acting as competitor to L-lysine. The maximum accumulation ratio attained (at about 5 mg dry matter per mL) was 100: 1-120: 1, in agreement with the measured protonmotive force under the assumption of 1 H+ ion being transported with 1 lysine molecule. The ratio decreased with increasing external concentration of lysine to as little as 4: 1 at 1 mmol lysine per litre. It also decreased with increasing suspension density and it was at extremely low suspension densities (0.2 mg dry matter per mL) that ratios of as much as 500: 1 were reached. Application of group-specific inhibitors showed that the active site of the carrier contains an essential histidine residue.

Ion-dependent generation of the electrochemical proton gradient delta muH+ in reconstituted plasma membrane vesicles from the yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii

Plasma membrane vesicles were reconstituted by freezing and thawing of purified plasma membrane fraction from the yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii and phosphatidylcholine (type II-S from Sigma). The reconstituted plasma membrane vesicles generated a proton gradient (acidic inside) upon addition of ATP in presence of alkali cations. delta pH generation was most efficient when K+ was present both outside and inside the plasma membrane vesicles. Both ATPase activity and proton translocation in plasma membrane vesicles were inhibited by orthovanadate (50% inhibition at 100 microM). Plasma membrane vesicles reconstituted without added phosphatidylcholine generated in addition to delta pH, also an electrical potential difference delta psi (inside positive). Delta psi generation exhibited no K+ specificity. 50 microM dicyclohexylcarbodiimide inhibited completely delta psi generation whereas the K+-channel blocker quinine (5 microM) caused an 8-fold increase of delta psi. The proton gradient was much less affected by the agents. Taking into account the K+-dependent stimulation of the plasma membrane ATPase of M. reukaufii, these results further support the conclusion that the ATPase operates as a partially electrogenic H+/K+ exchanger, as was also suggested for other yeast plasma membrane ATPases.

Effects of yeast suspension density on the accumulation ratio of transported solutes

The previously described effect of cell suspension density on metabolic and transport phenomena in yeast, apparently caused by inhibition by dissolved carbon dioxide, is also observed with the accumulation ratio of both sugars and amino acids where not only a kinetic but also a energetic factor comes into play. Unlike all previously measured metabolic and transport parameters, the dependence of the accumulation ratio on suspension density is not monotonic but shows a pronounced maximum in the range of 4-8 mg dry wt/ml, depending on yeast species and on cultivation conditions. In Rhodotorula gracilis and in Lodderomyces elongisporus it is not due to CO2 but is semiquantitatively related to the proton-motive force across the plasma membrane as well as to the intracellular ATP content. It is observed both in oxygen and in argon, over a wide range of pH values and of temperatures, but it is suppressed by metabolic inhibitors. It is expressed only in a range of transported solute concentrations between about 0.1 and 10 mM.

Potassium-proton symport in Neurospora: kinetic control by pH and membrane potential

Active transport of potassium in K+-starved Neurospora was previously shown to resemble closely potassium uptake in yeast, Chlorella, and higher plants, for which K+ pumps or K+/H+-ATPases had been proposed. For Neurospora, however, potassium-proton cotransport was demonstrated to operate, with a coupling ratio of 1 H+ to 1 K+ taken inward so that K+, but not H+, moves against its electrochemical gradient (Rodriguez-Navarro et al., J. Gen. Physiol. 87:649-674). In the present experiments, the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic of K+-H+ cotransport in spherical cells of Neurospora has been studied with a voltage-clamp technique, using difference-current methods to dissect it from other ion-transport processes in the Neurospora plasma membrane. Addition of 5-200 microM K+ to the bathing medium causes 10-150 mV depolarization of the unclamped membrane, and yields a sigmoid I-V curve with a steep slope (maximal conductance of 10-30 microS/cm2) for voltages of -300 to -100 mV, i.e., in the normal physiologic range. Outside that range the apparent I-V curve of the K+-H+ symport saturates for both hyperpolarization and depolarization. It fails to cross the voltage axis at its predicted reversal potential, however, an effect which can be attributed to failure of the I-V difference method under reversing conditions. In the absence of voltage clamping, inhibitors-such as cyanide or vanadate-which block the primary proton pump in Neurospora also promptly inhibit K+ transport and K+-H+ currents. But when voltage clamping is used to offset the depolarizing effects of pump blockade, the inhibitors have no immediate effect on K+-H+ currents. Thus, the inhibition of K+ transport usually observed with these agents reflects the kinetic effect of membrane depolarization rather than any direct chemical action or the cotransport system itself. Detailed study of the effects of [K+]o and pHo on the I-V curve for K+-H+ symport has revealed that increasing membrane potential systematically decreases the apparent affinity of the transporter for K+, but increases affinity for protons (Km range: for [K+]o, 15-45 microM; for [H+]o, 10-35 nM). This behavior is consistent with two distinct reaction-kinetic models, in which (i) a neutral carrier binds K+ first and H+ last in the forward direction of transport, or (ii) a negatively charged carrier (-2) binds H+ first and K+ last.

The electrochemical H+ gradient in the yeast Rhodotorula glutinis

The electrochemical gradient of protons, delta mu H+, was estimated in the obligatory aerobic yeast Rhodotorula glutinis in the pH0 range from 3 to 8.5. The membrane potential, delta psi, was measured by steady-state distribution of the hydrophobic ions, tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP+) for negative delta psi above pH0 4.5, and thiocyanate (SCN-) for positive delta psi below pH0 4.5. The chemical gradient of H+ was determined by measuring the chemical shift of intracellular Pi by 31P-NMR at given pH0 values. The values of pHi increased almost linearly from 7.3 at pH0 3 to 7.8 at pH0 8.5. In the physiological pH0 range from 3.5 to 6, delta mu H+ was fairly constant at values between 17-18 KJ mol-1, gradually decreasing at pH0 above 6. In deenergized cells, the intracellular pHi decreased to values as low as 6, regardless of whether the cell suspension was buffered at pH0 4.5 or 7.5. There was no membrane potential detectable in deenergized cells.

Influence of cations on the mode of action of miconazole on yeast cells

The influence of the antifungal agent miconazole nitrate on yeast plasma membranes was studied in a concentration range 0-100 microM. The reaction of 100 microM miconazole with the plasma membranes lead to a rapid breakdown of the transmembrane pH gradient and to an efflux of metabolites from the cytoplasm of the cells. This effect of miconazole could be reversed by mono-, di- and most effectively by trivalent cations due to the formation of miconazole-cation complexes. At a ratio of trivalent cation/miconazole (1:3) the effect was completely reversed. X-Ray diffraction studies indicated a crystalline structure of the aluminium-miconazole complex.

Possible energization of K+ accumulation into metabolizing yeast by the protonmotive force. Binding correction to be applied in the calculation of the yeast membrane potential from tetraphenylphosphonium distribution

Membrane potentials of yeast cells, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, calculated from the equilibrium distribution of tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP) between cell-water and medium should be corrected for a contribution due to binding of TPP to intracellular constituents. The magnitude of this correction depends upon the way in which it is determined. In cells permeabilized by boiling, cell-binding is much higher than in cells permeabilized by repeated freezing and thawing. The binding corrections are 75 +/- 1 mV and 49 +/- 7 mV, respectively. The binding correction obtained from TPP distribution between deenergized cells and medium is much lower and amounts to 19 +/- 9 mV. The latter value is probably more reliable. It is supposed that permeabilization of the cells by boiling or repeated freezing and thawing unmasks potential TPP binding groups in the cell. The K+ accumulation into anaerobically metabolizing yeast cells can be accounted for almost quantitatively by a cotransport of protons and K+ ions if the lower binding correction is applied. This means that K+ accumulation into the yeast cell may be driven by the sum of the protonmotive force and the membrane potential.

Membrane potential and cation permeability. A study with a nystatin-resistant mutant of Rhodotorula gracilis (Rhodosporidium toruloides)

Cells of a nystatin-resistant mutant of the obligatory aerobic yeast Rhodotorula gracilis displayed an electrical potential difference, delta psi, across the plasma membrane which was, in contrast to the wild-strain cells, virtually independent of the pH of cell suspensions down to 4.5. In addition, the delta psi in mutant cells was insensitive to extracellular K+ concentrations. The mutant cells failed to cotransport measurable amounts of H+ by the onset of monosaccharide transport and to take up K+ in exchange for H+. Taking into account the lower passive permeability of the mutant plasma membrane for cations, it has been concluded that the pH dependency of delta psi in wild-strain cells is correlated with the electrogenic leak of H+ back into the cells in course of increasing delta pH across the plasma membrane.

Passive fluxes of K+ and H+ in wild strain and nystatin-resistant mutant of Rhodotorula gracilis (ATCC 26194)

The passive fluxes of protons and potassium ions have been studied in the obligatory aerobic yeast Rhodotorula gracilis. The cellular energy metabolism was suspended by introducing anaerobic conditions. The H+-permeability of the plasma membrane was modified by adding an uncoupler under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Unfortunately, the plasma membrane of R. gracilis was insensitive to K+-ionophores. The passive flows of H+ and K+ under anaerobic and/or uncoupled conditions were electrically coupled and exhibited a constant stoicheiometry of 1:1. The H+ permeability of the plasmalemma was shown to determine the velocity of the passive K+-H+ exchange. The nystatin-resistant mutant M 67 displayed distinctly lower permeability for both H+ and K+, which can explain the observed differences in some transport characteristics of the two strains. In order to account for the properties of passive K+ flows, a membrane-potential-gated channel for K+ has been proposed. Evidence is presented that the inhibitor of the plasmalemma-bound H+-ATPase, N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD), reduced at first the permeability for both K+ and H+ and only upon prolonged incubation the ATPase itself. Since DCCD effected an immediate hyperpolarization of the membrane potential, it has been concluded that the H+ does not slip through the H+-ATPase under deenergized conditions.

All-or-none interactions of inhibitors of the plasma membrane ATPase with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The inhibitors of the yeast plasma membrane ATPase, Dio-9, miconazole, suloctidil, N,N'-dicyclohexycarbodiimide, triphenyltin and diethylstilbestrol provoke an all-or-none K+ loss from the cells. Some of the K+-depleted cells also show an increased permeability for the dye, Bromophenol blue, indicating that the barrier properties of these cells are drastically changed. Apart from this all-or-none process, a graded loss of K+ is also observed. These observations warn against the use of the inhibitors in studies aimed at evaluating the role of the ATPase in the energy transduction of membrane transport processes of yeasts.

The energetics of D-fucose transport in Saccharomyces fragilis. The influence of the protonmotive force on sugar accumulation

The protonmotive force in Saccharomyces fragilis has been estimated under various experimental conditions. The transmembrane potential has been monitored with tetraphenylphosphonium and 3,3'-dipropylthiadicarbocyanine. The distribution ratio of these cations between intracellular and extracellular water appeared to be governed by the electrical potential difference across the membrane of this yeast strain. The transmembrane pH difference was deduced from dimethyloxazolidinedione uptake experiments and from direct measurements of intracellular pH after freezing and boiling of the cells. Both methods yielded similar results. D-Fucose is transported by S. fragilis via H+ symport, with a H+/fucose stoichiometry of approximately 1. Accumulation of this sugar appeared to be closely correlated with the protonmotive force.