Siliques are Red1 from Arabidopsis acts as a bidirectional amino acid transporter that is crucial for the amino acid homeostasis of siliques

Plant Physiol. 2012 Apr;158(4):1643-55. doi: 10.1104/pp.111.192583. Epub 2012 Feb 6.

Abstract

Many membrane proteins are involved in the transport of nutrients in plants. While the import of amino acids into plant cells is, in principle, well understood, their export has been insufficiently described. Here, we present the identification and characterization of the membrane protein Siliques Are Red1 (SIAR1) from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) that is able to translocate amino acids bidirectionally into as well as out of the cell. Analyses in yeast and oocytes suggest a SIAR1-mediated export of amino acids. In Arabidopsis, SIAR1 localizes to the plasma membrane and is expressed in the vascular tissue, in the pericycle, in stamen, and in the chalazal seed coat of ovules and developing seeds. Mutant alleles of SIAR1 accumulate anthocyanins as a symptom of reduced amino acid content in the early stages of silique development. Our data demonstrate that the SIAR1-mediated export of amino acids plays an important role in organic nitrogen allocation and particularly in amino acid homeostasis in developing siliques.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Transport Systems / genetics
  • Amino Acid Transport Systems / metabolism*
  • Amino Acids / genetics
  • Amino Acids / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism*
  • Biological Transport
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism
  • Genetic Complementation Test
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Homeostasis*
  • Multigene Family
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Oocytes / metabolism
  • Organ Specificity
  • Oryza
  • Phenotype
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Vascular Bundle / metabolism
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism
  • Seeds / metabolism*
  • Subcellular Fractions / metabolism
  • Xenopus laevis

Substances

  • Amino Acid Transport Systems
  • Amino Acids
  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins