The photosynthetic machinery of plants must be regulated to maximize the efficiency of light reactions and CO fixation. Changes in free Ca in the stroma of chloroplasts have been observed at the transition between light and darkness, and also in response to stress stimuli. Such Ca dynamics have been proposed to regulate photosynthetic capacity. However, the molecular mechanisms of Ca fluxes in the chloroplasts have been unknown. By employing a Ca reporter-based approach, we identified two chloroplast-localized Ca transporters in Arabidopsis thaliana, BICAT1 and BICAT2, that determine the amplitude of the darkness-induced Ca signal in the chloroplast stroma. BICAT2 mediated Ca uptake across the chloroplast envelope, and its knockout mutation strongly dampened the dark-induced [Ca ] signal. Conversely, this Ca transient was increased in knockout mutants of BICAT1, which transports Ca into the thylakoid lumen. Knockout mutation of BICAT2 caused severe defects in chloroplast morphology, pigmentation and photosynthetic light reactions, rendering bicat2 mutants barely viable under autotrophic growth conditions, while bicat1 mutants were less affected. These results show that BICAT transporters play a role in chloroplast Ca homeostasis. They are also involved in the regulation of photosynthesis and plant productivity. Further work will be required to reveal whether the effect on photosynthesis is a direct result of their role as Ca transporters.

Higher alcohols and acetate esters are important flavour and aroma components in the food industry. In alcoholic beverages these compounds are produced by yeast during fermentation. Although Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the most extensively used species, other species of the Saccharomyces genus have become common in fermentation processes. This study analyses and compares the production of higher alcohols and acetate esters from their amino acidic precursors in three Saccharomyces species: Saccharomyces kudriavzevii, Saccharomyces uvarum and S. cerevisiae. The global volatile compound analysis revealed that S. kudriavzevii produced large amounts of higher alcohols, whereas S. uvarum excelled in the production of acetate esters. Particularly from phenylalanine, S. uvarum produced the largest amounts of 2-phenylethyl acetate, while S. kudriavzevii obtained the greatest 2-phenylethanol formation from this precursor. The present data indicate differences in the amino acid metabolism and subsequent production of flavour-active higher alcohols and acetate esters among the closely related Saccharomyces species. This knowledge will prove useful for developing new enhanced processes in fragrance, flavour, and food industries.

Cases of congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) have been associated with specific mutations within the gene encoding the human Golgi TMEM165 (transmembrane protein 165), belonging to UPF0016 (uncharacterized protein family 0016), a family of secondary ion transporters. To date, members of this family have been reported to be involved in calcium, manganese, and pH homeostases. Although it has been suggested that TMEM165 has cation transport activity, direct evidence for its Ca2+- and Mn2+-transporting activities is still lacking. Here, we functionally characterized human TMEM165 by heterologously expressing it in budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and in the bacterium Lactococcus lactis. Protein production in these two microbial hosts was enhanced by codon optimization and truncation of the putatively autoregulatory N terminus of TMEM165. We show that TMEM165 expression in a yeast strain devoid of Golgi Ca2+ and Mn2+ transporters abrogates Ca2+- and Mn2+-induced growth defects, excessive Mn2+ accumulation in the cell, and glycosylation defects. Using bacterial cells loaded with the fluorescent Fura-2 probe, we further obtained direct biochemical evidence that TMEM165 mediates Ca2+ and Mn2+ influxes. We also used the yeast and bacterial systems to evaluate the impact of four disease-causing missense mutations identified in individuals with TMEM165-associated CDG. We found that a mutation leading to a E108G substitution within the conserved UPF0016 family motif significantly reduces TMEM165 activity. These results indicate that TMEM165 can transport Ca2+ and Mn2+, which are both required for proper protein glycosylation in cells. Our work also provides tools to better understand the pathogenicity of CDG-associated TMEM165 mutations.

No abstract

The uncharacterized protein family 0016 (UPF0016) is a family of secondary ion transporters implicated in calcium homeostasis and some diseases. More precisely, genetic variants of the human UPF0016 ortholog transmembrane protein 165 (TMEM165) have been linked to congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG). The ortholog Gdt1p has been shown to be involved in calcium homeostasis and protein glycosylation. Moreover, plant and bacterial UPF0016 members appear to have putative roles in Mn homeostasis. Here, we produced the yeast UPF0016 member Gdt1p in the bacterial host Using Mn-induced quenching of Fura-2-emitted fluorescence, we observed that Gdt1p mediates Mn influx, in addition to its previously reported regulation of Ca influx. The estimated values of Gdt1p of 15.6 ± 2.6 μm for Ca and 83.2 ± 9.8 μm for Mn indicated that Gdt1p has a higher affinity for Ca than for Mn In yeast cells, we found that Gdt1p is involved in the resistance to high Mn concentration and controls total Mn stores. Lastly, we demonstrated that deletion affects the activity of the yeast Mn-dependent Sod2p superoxide dismutase, most likely by modulating cytosolic Mn concentrations. Taken together, we obtained first evidence that Gdt1p from yeast directly transports manganese, which strongly reinforces the suggested link between the UPF0016 family and Mn homeostasis and provides new insights into the molecular causes of human TMEM165-associated CDGs. Our results also shed light on how yeast cells may regulate Golgi intraluminal concentrations of manganese, a key cofactor of many enzymes involved in protein glycosylation.