The productivity of higher plants as a major source of food and energy is linked to their ability to buffer changes in the concentrations of essential and toxic ions. Transport across the tonoplast is energized by two proton pumps, the vacuolar H + -ATPase (VATPase) and the vacuolar H + -pyrophosphatase (V-PPase); however, their functional relation and relative contributions to ion storage and detoxification are unclear. We have identified an Arabidopsis mutant in which energization of vacuolar transport solely relies on the activity of the V-PPase. The vha-a2 vha-a3 double mutant, which lacks the two tonoplast-localized isoforms of the membrane-integral V-ATPase subunit VHA-a, is viable but shows day-length-dependent growth retardation. Nitrate content is reduced whereas nitrate assimilation is increased in the vha-a2 vha-a3 mutant, indicating that vacuolar nitrate storage represents a major growth-limiting factor. Zinc is an essential micronutrient that is toxic at excess concentrations and is detoxified via a vacuolar Zn 2+ /H + -antiport system. Accordingly, the double mutant shows reduced zinc tolerance. In the same way the vacuolar Na + /H + -antiport system is assumed to be an important component of the system that removes sodium from the cytosol. Unexpectedly, salt tolerance and accumulation are not affected in the vhaa2 vha-a3 double mutant. In contrast, reduction of V-ATPase activity in the trans-Golgi network/early endosome (TGN/EE) leads to increased salt sensitivity. Taken together, our results show that during gametophyte and embryo development V-PPase activity at the tonoplast is sufficient whereas tonoplast V-ATPase activity is limiting for nutrient storage but not for sodium tolerance during vegetative and reproductive growth.proton-pump | pH-homeostasis | vacuole | nitrate | salt tolerance T he productivity of higher plants as a major source of food and renewable energy is linked to their ability to cope with fluctuations in essential as well as toxic ion and metabolite concentrations. In plants the large central vacuoles function as reservoirs for ions and metabolites that allow buffering of changes in nutrients as well as challenges by toxic components that plants, as sessile, photoautotrophic organisms, frequently encounter. Furthermore, vacuoles are essential for plant growth and development. Expansion of plant cells is achieved by osmotically driven water influx into the vacuole that, in combination with the cell wall, generates turgor, the driving force for hydraulic stiffness and plant growth.All vacuolar functions require massive fluxes of ions and metabolites that are channeled by a battery of vacuolar transport proteins, many of which have been well characterized physiologically, but the nature of several transporters remains to be identified (1). Among those characterized on the molecular level are, e.g., those transporting NO 3 − , Na + , and protons. Nitrate, a major plant nutrient, is accumulated and stored in the vacuole from where it can be retrieved according to metabolic deman...

SUMMARYThe vacuolar membrane is involved in solute uptake into and release from the vacuole, which is the largest plant organelle. In addition to inorganic ions and metabolites, large quantities of protons and sugars are shuttled across this membrane. Current models suggest that the proton gradient across the membrane drives the accumulation and/or release of sugars. Recent studies have associated AtSUC4 with the vacuolar membrane. Some members of the SUC family are plasma membrane proton/sucrose symporters. In addition, the sugar transporters TMT1 and TMT2, which are localized to the vacuolar membrane, have been suggested to function in proton-driven glucose antiport. Here we used the patch-clamp technique to monitor carriermediated sucrose transport by AtSUC4 and AtTMTs in intact Arabidopsis thaliana mesophyll vacuoles. In the whole-vacuole configuration with wild-type material, cytosolic sucrose-induced proton currents were associated with a proton/sucrose antiport mechanism. To identify the related transporter on one hand, and to enable the recording of symporter-mediated currents on the other hand, we electrophysiologically characterized vacuolar proteins recognized by Arabidopsis mutants of partially impaired sugar compartmentation. To our surprise, the intrinsic sucrose/proton antiporter activity was greatly reduced when vacuoles were isolated from plants lacking the monosaccharide transporter AtTMT1/TMT2. Transient expression of AtSUC4 in this mutant background resulted in proton/sucrose symport activity. From these studies, we conclude that, in the natural environment within the Arabidopsis cell, AtSUC4 most likely catalyses protoncoupled sucrose export from the vacuole. However, TMT1/2 probably represents a proton-coupled antiporter capable of high-capacity loading of glucose and sucrose into the vacuole.

SUMMARYThe SV channel encoded by the TPC1 gene represents a Ca 2+ -and voltage-dependent vacuolar cation channel. Point mutation D454N within TPC1, named fou2 for fatty acid oxygenation upregulated 2, results in increased synthesis of the stress hormone jasmonate. As wounding causes Ca 2+ signals and cytosolic Ca 2+ is required for SV channel function, we here studied the Ca 2+ -dependent properties of this major vacuolar cation channel with Arabidopsis thaliana mesophyll vacuoles. In patch clamp measurements, wild-type and fou2 SV channels did not exhibit differences in cytosolic Ca 2+ sensitivity and Ca 2+ impermeability. K + fluxes through wild-type TPC1 were reduced or even completely faded away when vacuolar Ca 2+ reached the 0.1-mM level. The fou2 protein under these conditions, however, remained active. Thus, D454N seems to be part of a luminal Ca 2+ recognition site. Thereby the SV channel mutant gains tolerance towards elevated luminal Ca 2+ . A three-fold higher vacuolar Ca/K ratio in the fou2 mutant relative to wild-type plants seems to indicate that fou2 can accumulate higher levels of vacuolar Ca 2+ before SV channel activity vanishes and K + homeostasis is impaired. In response to wounding fou2 plants might thus elicit strong vacuole-derived cytosolic Ca 2+ signals resulting in overproduction of jasmonate.

SummaryThe vacuole represents a pivotal plant organelle for management of ion homeostasis, storage of proteins and solutes, as well as deposition of cytotoxic compounds. Ion channels, pumps and carriers in the vacuolar membrane under control of cytosolic factors provide for ionic and metabolic homeostasis between this storage organelle and the cytoplasm. Here we show that AtTPK1 (KCO1), a vacuolar membrane localized K + channel of the TPK family, interacts with 14-3-3 proteins (general regulating factors, GRFs). Following in planta expression TPK1 and GRF6 co-localize at the vacuolar membrane. Co-localization of wild-type TPK1, but not the TPK1-S42A mutant, indicates that phosphorylation of the 14-3-3 binding motif of TPK1 represents a prerequisite for interaction. Pull-down assays and surface plasmon resonance measurements revealed GRF6 high-affinity interaction with TPK1. Following expression of TPK1 in yeast and isolation of vacuoles, patchclamp studies identified TPK1 as a voltage-independent and Ca 2+ -activated K + channel. Addition of 14-3-3 proteins strongly increased the TPK1 activity in a dose-dependent manner. However, an inverse effect of GRF6 on the activity of the slow-activating vacuolar (SV) channel was observed in mesophyll vacuoles from Arabidopsis thaliana. Thus, TPK1 seems to provide for a Ca 2+ -and 14-3-3-sensitive mechanism capable of controlling cytoplasmic potassium homeostasis in plants.

Cytosolic calcium homeostasis is pivotal for intracellular signaling and requires sensing of calcium concentrations in the cytosol and accessible stores. Numerous Ca 2+ binding sites have been characterized in cytosolic proteins. However, little is known about Ca 2+ binding inside organelles, like the vacuole. The slow vacuolar (SV) channel, encoded by Arabidopsis thaliana TPC1, is regulated by luminal Ca 2+ . However, the D454/fou2 mutation in TPC1 eliminates vacuolar calcium sensitivity and increases store calcium content. In a search for the luminal calcium binding site, structure modeling indicated a possible coordination site formed by residues Glu-450, Asp-454, Glu-456, and Glu-457 on the luminal side of TPC1. Each Glu residue was replaced by Gln, the modified genes were transiently expressed in loss-of-TPC1-function protoplasts, and SV channel responses to luminal calcium were recorded by patch clamp. SV channels lacking any of the four negatively charged residues appeared altered in calcium sensitivity of channel gating. Our results indicate that Glu-450 and Asp-454 are directly involved in Ca 2+ binding, whereas Glu-456 and Glu-457 are probably involved in connecting the luminal Ca 2+ binding site to the channel gate. This novel vacuolar calcium binding site represents a potential tool to address calcium storage in plants.