Potassium homeostasis is crucial for living cells. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the uptake of potassium is driven by the electrochemical gradient generated by the Pma1 H ؉ -ATPase, and this process represents a major consumer of the gradient. We considered that any mutation resulting in an alteration of the electrochemical gradient could give rise to anomalous sensitivity to any cationic drug independently of its toxicity mechanism. Here, we describe a genomewide screen for mutants that present altered tolerance to hygromycin B, spermine, and tetramethylammonium. Two hundred twenty-six mutant strains displayed altered tolerance to all three drugs (202 hypersensitive and 24 hypertolerant), and more than 50% presented a strong or moderate growth defect at a limiting potassium concentration (1 mM). Functional groups such as protein kinases and phosphatases, intracellular trafficking, transcription, or cell cycle and DNA processing were enriched. Essentially, our screen has identified a substantial number of genes that were not previously described to play a direct or indirect role in potassium homeostasis. A subset of 27 representative mutants were selected and subjected to diverse biochemical tests that, in some cases, allowed us to postulate the basis for the observed phenotypes.

The intrinsic ability of cells to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions is a fundamental process required for survival. Potassium is the most abundant cation in living cells and is required for essential cellular processes, including the regulation of cell volume, pH and protein synthesis. Yeast cells can grow from low micromolar to molar potassium concentrations and utilize sophisticated control mechanisms to keep the internal potassium concentration in a viable range. We developed a mathematical model for Saccharomyces cerevisiae to explore the complex interplay between biophysical forces and molecular regulation facilitating potassium homeostasis. By using a novel inference method (“the reverse tracking algorithm”) we predicted and then verified experimentally that the main regulators under conditions of potassium starvation are proton fluxes responding to changes of potassium concentrations. In contrast to the prevailing view, we show that regulation of the main potassium transport systems (Trk1,2 and Nha1) in the plasma membrane is not sufficient to achieve homeostasis.

Living cells accumulate potassium (K⁺) to fulfil multiple functions. It is well documented that the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae grows at very different concentrations of external alkali cations and keeps high and low intracellular concentrations of K⁺ and sodium (Na⁺) respectively. However less attention has been paid to the study of the intracellular distribution of these cations. The most widely used experimental approach, plasma membrane permeabilization, produces incomplete results, since it usually considers only cytoplasm and vacuoles as compartments where the cations are present in significant amounts. By isolating and analysing the main yeast organelles, we have determined the subcellular location of K⁺ and Na⁺ in S. cerevisiae. We show that while vacuoles accumulate most of the intracellular K⁺ and Na⁺, the cytosol contains relatively low amounts, which is especially relevant in the case of Na⁺. However K⁺ concentrations in the cytosol are kept rather constant during the K⁺-starvation process and we conclude that, for that purpose, vacuolar K⁺ has to be rapidly mobilized. We also show that this intracellular distribution is altered in four different mutants with impaired vacuolar physiology. Finally, we show that both in wild-type and vacuolar mutants, nuclei contain and keep a relatively constant and important percentage of total intracellular K⁺ and Na⁺, which most probably is involved in the neutralization of negative charges.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells are able to grow at very different potassium concentrations adapting its intracellular cation levels to changes in the external milieu. Potassium homeostasis in wild type cells resuspended in media with low potassium is an example of non-perfect adaptation since the same intracellular concentration is not approached irrespective of the extracellular levels of the cation. By using yeasts lacking the Trk1,2 system or expressing different versions of the mutated main plasma membrane potassium transporter (Trk1), we show that Trk1 is not essential for adaptation to potassium changes but the dynamics of potassium loss is very different in the wild type and in trk1,2 mutant or in yeasts expressing Trk1 versions with highly impaired transport characteristics. We also show that the pattern here described can be also fulfilled by heterologous expression of NcHAK1, a potassium transporter not belonging to the TRK family. Hyperpolarization and cationic drugs sensitivity in mutants with defective transport capacity provide additional support to the hypothesis of connections between the activity of the Trk system and the plasma membrane H(+) ATPase (Pma1) in the adaptive process.

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.