Potassium (K⁺) is an essential mineral macronutrient abundantly present in the cytosol which, unlike other macronutrients, is not metabolized and does not integrate into macromolecules. Compared to animal cells, K⁺ is more abundantly present in plant cells.

Overall performance of the plant, and operation of metabolic machinery depends upon intracellular K⁺ homeostasis (K⁺ uptake and efflux) via K⁺ channels and transporters acting as mediators of cellular responses during plant development. Unlike animals, plants lack sodium/K⁺ exchangers; plant cells have developed unique transport systems for K⁺ accumulation and release. In Arabidopsis thaliana, 71 K⁺ channels and transporters have been identified and categorized into six families.

Plant adaptive responses to several abiotic and biotic stresses are mediated by regulation of intracellular K⁺ homeostasis. In this report, we highlight the role of K⁺ in abiotic and biotic stresses, features of channels and transporters responsible for its homeostasis along with its evolutionary relationship, perception and sensing mechanisms, and K⁺ deficiency triggering different signaling cascades.

Overall, this book covers the role of K⁺ in plants would be significantly helpful to research, academic community as well as students to understand the one of the major attributes of plant biology.

Chapter 1. Introduction: Overview of Role of potassium

·         Potassium as a nutrient

·         Potassium : major intracellular ion

·         Potassium as an osmoticum

·         Potassium as a signalling molecule

·         Importance of potassium in agriculture

Chapter 2: Potassium Homeostasis

·         General overview of potassium Homeostasis

·         Potassium uptake and transport system

·         Potassium homeostasis in plants and its regulation

·         References

Chapter 3: Potassium uptake and transport system in plants

·         Introduction

·         Potassium channels and transporters families

·         Characteristics of potassium channels and transporters

·         Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of potassium transporters

·         Cellular and subcellular localization

·         References

Chapter 4: Sequence, structure and domain analysis of potassium channels and transporters

·         Introduction

·         Sequence, domain architecture and conserved domains

·         References

Chapter 5: Potassium in plant growth and development

·         Introduction

·         Potassium in vegetative growth, shoot growth

·         Potassium in grain filling

·           References

Chapter 6: Potassium in abiotic stress

·         Introduction

·         Potassium in drought and waterlogging stress

·         Potassium in salt stress

·         References

Chapter 7: Potassium deficiency: A stress signal

·         Introduction

·         Overview of pot...