Sardans Jordi, Peñuelas Josep
CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain.
CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain.
Plants (Basel). 2021 Feb 23;10(2):419. doi: 10.3390/plants10020419.
Potassium, mostly as a cation (K), together with calcium (Ca) are the most abundant inorganic chemicals in plant cellular media, but they are rarely discussed. K is not a component of molecular or macromolecular plant structures, thus it is more difficult to link it to concrete metabolic pathways than nitrogen or phosphorus. Over the last two decades, many studies have reported on the role of K in several physiological functions, including controlling cellular growth and wood formation, xylem-phloem water content and movement, nutrient and metabolite transport, and stress responses. In this paper, we present an overview of contemporary findings associating K with various plant functions, emphasizing plant-mediated responses to environmental abiotic and biotic shifts and stresses by controlling transmembrane potentials and water, nutrient, and metabolite transport. These essential roles of K account for its high concentrations in the most active plant organs, such as leaves, and are consistent with the increasing number of ecological and agricultural studies that report K as a key element in the function and structure of terrestrial ecosystems, crop production, and global food security. We synthesized these roles from an integrated perspective, considering the metabolic and physiological functions of individual plants and their complex roles in terrestrial ecosystem functions and food security within the current context of ongoing global change. Thus, we provide a bridge between studies of K at the plant and ecological levels to ultimately claim that K should be considered at least at a level similar to N and P in terrestrial ecological studies.
钾，主要以阳离子（K⁺）的形式，与钙（Ca²⁺）一起是植物细胞介质中含量最丰富的无机化学物质，但它们很少被讨论。钾不是植物分子或大分子结构的组成部分，因此与氮或磷相比，将其与具体的代谢途径联系起来更加困难。在过去的二十年里，许多研究报道了钾在多种生理功能中的作用，包括控制细胞生长和木材形成、木质部 - 韧皮部的水分含量和运输、养分和代谢物运输以及应激反应。在本文中，我们概述了将钾与各种植物功能相关联的当代研究结果，强调植物通过控制跨膜电位以及水分、养分和代谢物运输来介导对环境非生物和生物变化及胁迫的反应。钾的这些重要作用解释了其在最活跃的植物器官（如叶片）中的高浓度，并且与越来越多的生态和农业研究一致，这些研究将钾视为陆地生态系统功能、作物生产和全球粮食安全的关键要素。我们从综合的角度综合了这些作用，考虑了个体植物的代谢和生理功能及其在当前全球变化背景下陆地生态系统功能和粮食安全中的复杂作用。因此，我们在植物水平和生态水平的钾研究之间架起了一座桥梁，最终主张在陆地生态研究中，钾至少应被视为与氮和磷类似的水平。
