Unraveling the function of Arabidopsis thaliana OS9 in the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation of glycoproteins

Plant Mol Biol. 2012 May;79(1-2):21-33. doi: 10.1007/s11103-012-9891-4. Epub 2012 Feb 11.

Abstract

In the endoplasmic reticulum, immature polypeptides coincide with terminally misfolded proteins. Consequently, cells need a well-balanced quality control system, which decides about the fate of individual proteins and maintains protein homeostasis. Misfolded and unassembled proteins are sent for destruction via the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) machinery to prevent the accumulation of potentially toxic protein aggregates. Here, we report the identification of Arabidopsis thaliana OS9 as a component of the plant ERAD pathway. OS9 is an ER-resident glycoprotein containing a mannose-6-phosphate receptor homology domain, which is also found in yeast and mammalian lectins involved in ERAD. OS9 fused to the C-terminal domain of YOS9 can complement the ERAD defect of the corresponding yeast Δyos9 mutant. An A. thaliana OS9 loss-of-function line suppresses the severe growth phenotype of the bri1-5 and bri1-9 mutant plants, which harbour mutated forms of the brassinosteroid receptor BRI1. Co-immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated that OS9 associates with Arabidopsis SEL1L/HRD3, which is part of the plant ERAD complex and with the ERAD substrates BRI1-5 and BRI1-9, but only the binding to BRI1-5 occurs in a glycan-dependent way. OS9-deficiency results in activation of the unfolded protein response and reduces salt tolerance, highlighting the role of OS9 during ER stress. We propose that OS9 is a component of the plant ERAD machinery and may act specifically in the glycoprotein degradation pathway.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Arabidopsis / drug effects
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / chemistry
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism*
  • Endoplasmic Reticulum / drug effects
  • Endoplasmic Reticulum / metabolism
  • Endoplasmic Reticulum-Associated Degradation* / drug effects
  • Glycoproteins / metabolism*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Membrane Glycoproteins / chemistry
  • Membrane Glycoproteins / metabolism*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Phenotype
  • Polysaccharides / metabolism
  • Protein Binding / drug effects
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / drug effects
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism
  • Sodium Chloride / pharmacology
  • Stress, Physiological / drug effects
  • Unfolded Protein Response / drug effects

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Glycoproteins
  • Membrane Glycoproteins
  • OS9 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Polysaccharides
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Sodium Chloride