KT1 — Oryza sativa Japonica

Summary

OsKT1 (Os03G0575200) encodes a potassium transporter of the HAK/KUP/KT family, possessing potassium transporter and potassium:sodium symporter activities, along with protein kinase and calcium-dependent protein serine/threonine kinase activities. In rice, the gene is associated with salt stress tolerance, root and shoot growth, pollen development and fertility, seed setting rate, reactive oxygen species regulation, auxin transport, lateral root and root hair development, and tiller architecture. It has been linked to potassium and sodium concentration, grain yield, biomass, chlorophyll content, water use efficiency, transpiration rate, stomatal opening and closure, leaf elongation, root thickness, seed growth, flowering time, and responses to osmotic and low temperature stress. The gene product localizes to the plasma membrane, vacuole, cytosol, nucleus, mitochondria, and extracellular regions. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to salinity tolerance, potassium acquisition, gravitropism, stomatal ABA responsiveness, and sucrose synthesis.