Abstract
We have investigated the interplay between glycolytic oscillations and
intracellular K + concentration in the yeast S.
cerevisiae. Intracellular K + concentration was
measured using the fluorophore PBFI. We found that K +
is an essential ion for the occurrence of glycolytic oscillations and
that intracellular K + concentration oscillates
synchronously with other variables such as NADH, intracellular ATP and
mitochondrial membrane potential. We also investigated if glycolysis and
intracellular K + concentration oscillate in a number
of yeast strains with mutations in K + transporters in
the plasma membrane, mitochondrial membrane and in the vacuolar
membrane. Most of these strains are still capable of showing glycolytic
oscillations, but two strains are not: (i) a strain with a deletion in
the mitochondrial Mdm38p K +/H +
transporter and (ii) a strain with deletion of the late endosomal Nhx1p
K +/H + (Na +/H
+) transporter. In these two mutant strains
intracellular K + concentration seems to be low,
indicating that the two transporters may be involved in transport of K
+ into the cytosol. In the strain Mdm38p Δ
oscillations in glycolysis could be restored by addition of the K
+/H + exchange ionophore nigericin.
Furthermore, in two non-oscillating mutant strain with a defective
V-ATPase and deletion of the Arp1p protein the intracellular K
+ is relatively high, suggesting that the V-ATPase is
essential for transport of K + out of the cytosol and
that the cytoskeleton may be involved in binding K +
to reduce the concentration of free ion in the cytosol. Analyses of the
time series of oscillations of NADH, ATP, mitochondrial membrane
potential and potassium concentration using data-driven modeling
corroborate the conjecture that K + ion is essential
for the emergence of oscillations and support the experimental findings
using mutant strains.