9513921 Berkowitz This research is to characterize a putative beta subunit of a plant K + channel. This molecule is a translation product of a cDNA from Arabidopsis which is 50% homologous to a recently characterized beta subunit in brain, which rapidly inactivates K channels by occluding the ion conduction path in the pore region of the protein. The research in this grant will be aimed at characterizing this channel and studying its interaction with the known K channels in plant cells. Since K+ channels are important to a number of processes in plant cells, information on their regulation is important. ***
