The cytosol of a plant cell is more acidic than normal due to a malfunctioning H

Question

The cytosol of a plant cell is more acidic than normal due to a malfunctioning H+ pump in the cell membrane.  

(1) Why would a malfunctioning pump also affect the transport of some nutrients in and out of the cell? You want to try to fix this problem by introducing a H+ channel into the membrane of the cell.  (

2) Explain the electrochemical gradient that must exist in order for H+ to diffuse out of the plant cell through this new H+ channel and how could this channel be regulated to open only when H+ needs to diffuse? (

Explanation / Answer

Proton pump is responsible for transporting H+ ions in the plant cells. The concentration gradient of hydrogen level regulated the proton pump, hydogen gradient is high at the one side, and the transporter protein carries H+ ions down the gradient this way the gradient is maintained.Ions moving down a gradient release energy, but when they move up a gradient, it takes energy. Diffusion can then use this gradient to capture energy again, as the ions move downhill.

Ans 2 For the regulation of this channel, ATP dependent proton pumps are required.

ATP dependent proton pumps or transport ATPase are the pumps that transport H+ ions against their concentration gradients. These pumps are transmembrane proteins with one or more binding sites for ATP located on the cytosolic face of the membrane and these proteins are called ATPases. They normally do not hydrolyze ATP into ADP and Pi unless H+ ions are simultaneously transported. Because of this tight coupling between ATP hydrolysis and transport, the energy stored in the phosphoanhydride bond is not dissipated but rather used to move ions or other molecules uphill against an electrochemical gradient.

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