There is an urgent need to improve the infrastructure supporting the reuse of scholarly data. A diverse set of stakeholders—representing academia, industry, funding agencies, and scholarly publishers—have come together to design and jointly endorse a concise and measureable set of principles that we refer to as the FAIR Data Principles. The intent is that these may act as a guideline for those wishing to enhance the reusability of their data holdings. Distinct from peer initiatives that focus on the human scholar, the FAIR Principles put specific emphasis on enhancing the ability of machines to automatically find and use the data, in addition to supporting its reuse by individuals. This Comment is the first formal publication of the FAIR Principles, and includes the rationale behind them, and some exemplar implementations in the community.

For a better understanding of the molecular and biochemical processes involved in orthophosphate (Pi) uptake at the root/soil interface, we cloned a Pi-transporter c DNA (LePT1) from a root air-specific cDNA library of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). The corresponding protein belongs to the growing family of ion transporters with twelve putative transmembrane domains. It is highly homologous to recently isolated Pi transporters from higher plants, yeast and fungi. When expressed in a Pi-uptake-deficient yeast mutant, the L. esculentum phosphate transporter 1 (LePT1) protein exhibits an apparent Km of 31 MicroM. The transporter is still active at submicromolar Pi concentrations and mediates highest Pi uptake at pH 5. The activity of LePT1 is dependent on the electrochemical membrane potential mediated by the yeast P-type H + - ATPase. Transcript levels of LePT1 in tomato seedlings are detectable in all vegetative organs under Pi-sufficient conditions, with highest concentrations in root hairs. In situ hybridization studies demonstrate cell-specific expression of LePT1 in the tomato root. The LePT1 mRNA is detectable in peripheral cell layers such as rhizodermal and root cap cells. Under Pi-deprivation condition, mRNA levels are also detectable in young stelar tissue. This work presents molecular and biochemical evidence for distinct root cells playing an important role in Pi acquisition at the root/soil interface.

Based on the high sequence homology between the yeast ORF YBR296c (accession number P38361 in the SWISS-PROT database) and the PHO4 gene of Neurospora crassa, which codes for a Na+/Pi cotransporter with twelve putative transmembrane domains, the YBR296c ORF was considered to be a promising candidate gene for a plasma membrane-bound phosphate transporter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Therefore, this gene, here designated PHO89, was cloned and a set of deletion mutants was constructed. We then studied their Pi uptake activity under different conditions. We show here that a transport activity displayed by PHO89 strains under alkaline conditions and in the presence of Na+ is absent in pho89 null mutants. Moreover, when the pH was lowered to pH 4.5 or when Na+ was omitted, this activity decreased significantly, reaching values close to those exhibited by the deltapho89 mutant. Studies of the acid phosphatase activity of these strains, as well as promoter sequence analysis, suggest that expression of the PHO89 gene is under the control of the PHO regulatory system. Northern analysis shows that this gene is only transcribed under conditions of Pi limitation. This is, to our knowledge, the first demonstration that the PHO89 gene codes for the Na+/Pi cotransporter previously characterized by kinetic studies, and represents the only Na+-coupled secondary anion transport system so far identified in S. cerevisiae. Pho89p has been shown to have an apparent Km of 0.5 microM and a pH optimum of 9.5, and is highly specific for Na+; activation of transport is maximal at a Na+ concentration of 25 mM.

Membrane transport systems active in cellular inorganic phosphate (P(i)) acquisition play a key role in maintaining cellular P(i) homeostasis, independent of whether the cell is a unicellular microorganism or is contained in the tissue of a higher eukaryotic organism. Since unicellular eukaryotes such as yeast interact directly with the nutritious environment, regulation of P(i) transport is maintained solely by transduction of nutrient signals across the plasma membrane. The individual yeast cell thus recognizes nutrients that can act as both signals and sustenance. The present review provides an overview of P(i) acquisition via the plasma membrane P(i) transporters of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the regulation of internal P(i) stores under the prevailing P(i) status.

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A simplified approach for purification of functional lactose permease from Escherichia coli is described that is based on the construction of chimeras between the permease and a 100-amino acid residue polypeptide containing the biotin acceptor domain from the oxaloacetate decarboxylase ofKlebsieUapneumoniae [Cronan, J. E., Jr. (1990)J. Biol. Chem. 265, 10327-10333]. Chimeras were constructed with a factor Xa protease site and the biotin acceptor domain in the middle cytoplasmic loop (loop 6) or at the C terminus of the permease. Each construct catalyzes active lactose transport in cells and right-side-out membrane vesicles. Moreover, the constructs are biotinylated in vivo, and in both chimeras, the factor Xa protease site is accessible from the cytoplasmic surface of the membrane. Both biotinylated permeases bind selectively to immobilized monomeric avidin and are eluted with free biotin in a high state of purity, and the loop 6 chimera catalyzes active transport after reconstitution into proteoliposomes. The methodology described should be applicable to other membrane proteins.The lactose permease of Escherichia coli is a polytopic hydrophobic membrane protein that catalyzes the coupled translocation of a single ,B-galactoside molecule with a single H+ (i.e., symport or cotransport). As such, it is a paradigm for membrane proteins that transduce the energy stored in an electrochemical ion gradient into work in the form of a concentration gradient (see refs. 1 and 2 for reviews). The permease is encoded by the lacYgene, which has been cloned (3) and sequenced (4), and the protein has been solubilized from the membrane, purified, and reconstituted into proteoliposomes in a fully functional state (5). Based on circular dichroism of the purified protein and the sequential hydropathy of the deduced amino acid sequence (6), a secondary structure was proposed in which the polypeptide is organized into 12 a-helical domains that traverse the membrane in zigzag fashion connected by more hydrophilic domains (loops). Evidence supporting the general aspects ofthe model and demonstrating that both the N and C termini are on the cytoplasmic face of the membrane has been obtained through a variety of experimental approaches (1, 2), and analysis of lactose permease-alkaline phosphatase (lacY-phoA) fusions has provided unequivocal support for the topological predictions of the 12-helix model (7).Although lactose permease can be solubilized from the membrane, purified, and reconstituted in a functional state, a simpler, more rapid purification is needed for biochemical and spectroscopic studies involving cysteine (8-12) or tryptophan (13) replacement mutants, as well as attempts at crystallization. Cronan (14) has described a method for the The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact.construction of soluble chimeric proteins from either E. coli or Saccharomy...

TAAC is readily expressed in dark-grown Arabidopsis seedlings, and its level remains stable throughout the greening process. Its expression is highest in developing green tissues and in leaves undergoing senescence or abiotic stress. We propose that the TAAC protein supplies ATP for energy-dependent reactions during thylakoid biogenesis and turnover in plants.Chloroplasts perform oxygenic photosynthesis in algae and plants and have evolved by endosymbiosis from cyanobacteria. Chloroplasts have two distinct membrane systems, the double envelope surrounding the organelle and an internal membrane system named thylakoids. The envelope membrane represents the interface between the cytoplasm and chloroplast stroma, whereas the thylakoid membrane separates the stroma and the lumenal space. Altogether ϳ800 membrane proteins have been identified by proteomics in the envelope and thylakoid membranes of Arabidopsis thaliana (for reviews, see Refs. 1 and 2). As expected, the main function for the identified envelope proteins was transport of ions and metabolites, whereas photosynthesis was attributed to most of the identified thylakoid proteins. The major protein complexes in thylakoids are photosystems (PS) 4 I and II, the cytochrome b 6 f complex, and the proton-translocating ATP synthase. These photosynthetic complexes contain not only proteins but also pigments and other cofactors. Their assembly, activity, and removal require a large number of auxiliary, regulatory, and transport proteins (3, 4). Many biochemical reports pointed to the existence of transport activities in the thylakoid membrane, such as calcium transport (5), copper transport (6), anion channels (7), cation channels (8, 9), and nucleotide transport (10). Only the thylakoid copper transporter was identified at the genetic level in Arabidopsis (11). No hydrophobic proteins related to the above-mentioned transport activities were identified in the previous proteomic works on Arabidopsis thylakoid membranes (for a review, see Ref.2). Therefore, genetic strategies are required for identification and elucidation of their role in optimal function of the thylakoid.ATP is produced during the light-dependent photosynthetic reactions on the stromal side of the thylakoid membrane. Besides its utilization during CO 2 fixation in the stroma, ATP drives many energy-dependent processes in thylakoids, including protein phosphorylation, folding, import, and degradation.

The mechanism involved in the cellular phosphate response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae forms part of the PHO pathway, which upon expression allows a co-ordinated cellular response and adaptation to changes in availability of external phosphate. Although genetic studies and analyses of the S. cerevisiae genome have produced much information on the components of the PHO pathway, little is known about how cells sense the environmental phosphate level and the mechanistic regulation of phosphate acquisition. Recent studies emphasize different levels in phosphate sensing and signalling in response to external phosphate fluctuations. This review integrates all these findings into a model involving rapid and long-term effects of phosphate sensing and signalling in S. cerevisiae. The model describes in particular how yeast cells are able to adjust phosphate acquisition by integrating the status of the intracellular phosphate pools together with the extracellular phosphate concentration.