Maintenance of monovalent cation homeostasis (mainly K(+) and Na(+)) is vital for cell survival, and cation toxicity is at the basis of a myriad of relevant phenomena, such as salt stress in crops and diverse human diseases. Full understanding of the importance of monovalent cations in the biology of the cell can only be achieved from a systemic perspective. Translucent is a multinational project developed within the context of the SysMO (System Biology of Microorganisms) initiative and focussed in the study of cation homeostasis using the well-known yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model. The present review summarize how the combination of biochemical, genetic, genomic and computational approaches has boosted our knowledge in this field, providing the basis for a more comprehensive and coherent vision of the role of monovalent cations in the biology of the cell.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology University of Córdoba Córdoba Spain

Department of Membrane Transport Institute of Physiology Academy of Sciences CR Prague Czech Republic

Department of Microbiology University of Córdoba Córdoba Spain

Faculty of Life Sciences and Computing London Metropolitan University London United Kingdom

Humboldt University Berlin Germany

Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Dept Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Cerdanyola del Vallès Barcelona Spain

Institute of Biology Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands

Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas Universidad Politécnica de Valencia Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Valencia Spain

RheinAhrCampus University of Applied Sciences Koblenz Remagen Germany

University Bonn Bonn Germany

References provided by Crossref.org

Dimerisation of the Yeast K+ Translocation Protein Trk1 Depends on the K+ Concentration

Potassium Uptake Mediated by Trk1 Is Crucial for Candida glabrata Growth and Fitness