Regulation of the fast vacuolar channel by cytosolic and vacuolar potassium.

At resting cytosolic Ca(2)(+), passive K(+) conductance of a higher plant tonoplast is likely dominated by fast vacuolar (FV) channels. This patch-clamp study describes K(+)-sensing behavior of FV channels in Beta vulgaris taproot vacuoles. Variation of K(+) between 10 and 400 mM had little effect on the FV channel conductance, but a pronounced one on the open probability. Shift of the voltage dependence by cytosolic K(+) could be explained by screening of the negative surface charge with a density sigma = 0.25 e(-)/nm(2). Vacuolar K(+) had a specific effect on the FV channel gating at negative potentials without significant effect on closed-open transitions at positive ones. Due to K(+) effects at either membrane side, the potential at which the FV channel has minimal activity was always situated at approximately 50 mV below the potassium equilibrium potential, E(K(+)). At tonoplast potentials below or equal to E(K(+)), the FV channel open probability was almost independent on the cytosolic K(+) but varied in a proportion to the vacuolar K(+). Therefore, the release of K(+) from the vacuole via FV channels could be controlled by the vacuolar K(+) in a feedback manner; the more K(+) is lost the lower will be the transport rate.