Homologous Proteins of the Manganese Transporter PAM71 Are Localized in the Golgi Apparatus and Endoplasmic Reticulum

Transit of NEAT1 and MTP11 to the plasma membrane and co-localization to vesicles support a role for exocytosis-mediated export in metal homeostasis

Understanding the role and mode of action of nutrient transporters requires information about their dynamic associations with plant membranes. Historically, apoplastic nutrient export has been associated with proteins localized at the plasma membrane (PM), while the role of endomembrane localization has been less explored. However, recent work on the PHOSPHATE 1 (PHO1) inorganic phosphate (Pi) exporter demonstrated that, although primarily localized at the Golgi and trans-Golgi network (TGN) vesicles, PHO1 does associate with the PM when clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) was inhibited, supporting a mechanism for Pi homeostasis involving exocytosis. We explored whether CME inhibition can identify other transporters that, although primarily localized at Golgi/TGN at steady-state level, also transit via the PM and are potentially involved in export via exocytosis. We found that, similar to PHO1, Golgi-localized transporters NA EFFLUX TRANSPORTER1 (NAET1) and METAL TOLERANCE PROTEIN11 (MTP11) relocate to the PM when CME is inhibited, both transiently in Nicotiana benthamiana and conditionally in Arabidopsis thaliana. Such PM re-localization of transporters upon CME inhibition is specific, since it does not occur with several other Golgi-associated transporters, including MTP5 and BIVALENT CATION TRANSPORTER 3 (BICAT3), as well as resident Golgi/TGN membrane proteins, such as α-1,2-MANNOSIDASE I (Man1) and VESICLE TRANSPORT V-SNARE 12 (VTI12). Additionally, we observed that NAET1, MTP11 and PHO1 all partially co-localize to vesicles. Overall, our study supports a role for synaptic-like vesicle-mediated exocytosis for both NEAT1 and MTP11 in nutrient transport in plants and highlights the importance of assessing the transient localization of Golgi/TGN proteins to the PM.

OsPML2, a chloroplast envelope localized transporter is involved in manganese homeostasis in rice

Manganese (Mn), a vital element, plays crucial roles in various biochemical and physiological processes by serving as an essential cofactor for numerous enzymes and acting as a catalytically active metal within biological clusters. In this study, we investigate the role of PHOTOSYNTHESIS-AFFECTED MUTANT 71-LIKE 2 (OsPML2), a member of the UNCHARACTERIZED PROTEIN FAMILY 0016 (UPF0016) family, in regulating Mn homeostasis in rice. OsPML2 was highly expressed in young leaves, ovaries, and stigmas. Cross sections from young leaves revealed that OsPML2 was mainly expressed in the phloem region and mesophyll cells. Furthermore, heterologous expression of OsPML2 restored the growth of Mn uptake-defective yeast strain Δsmf1 under Mn-limited conditions. Subcellular localization analysis demonstrated that OsPML2 was specifically localized in the chloroplast envelope. Knockdown of OsPML2 resulted in reduced chloroplast Mn content, significantly affecting plant growth under Mn deficiency. Furthermore, analysis of isolated thylakoid membranes using blue native gels indicated a compromised accumulation of photosystem II (PSII) complexes in OsPML2 knockdown lines. Additionally, grain yield, grain length, and width were significantly reduced in OsPML2 knockdown plants. Collectively, our findings provide insights into the transport function of OsPML2, which facilitates Mn transport from the cytosol to chloroplast stroma and influences the accumulation of PSII complexes in rice.

New insights into the pathogenicity of TMEM165 variants using structural modeling based on AlphaFold 2 predictions

TMEM165 is a Golgi protein playing a crucial role in Mn²⁺ transport, and whose mutations in patients are known to cause Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation. Some of those mutations affect the highly-conserved consensus motifs E-φ-G-D-[KR]-[TS] characterizing the CaCA2/UPF0016 family, presumably important for the transport of Mn²⁺ which is essential for the function of many Golgi glycosylation enzymes. Others, like the G>R³⁰⁴ mutation, are far away from these motifs in the sequence. Until recently, the classical membrane protein topology prediction methods were unable to provide a clear picture of the organization of TMEM165 inside the cell membrane, or to explain in a convincing manner the impact of patient and experimentally-generated mutations on the transporter function of TMEM165. In this study, AlphaFold 2 was used to build a TMEM165 model that was then refined by molecular dynamics simulation with membrane lipids and water. This model provides a realistic picture of the 3D protein scaffold formed from a two-fold repeat of three transmembrane helices/domains where the consensus motifs face each other to form a putative acidic cation-binding site at the cytosolic side of the protein. It sheds new light on the impact of mutations on the transporter function of TMEM165, found in patients and studied experimentally in vitro, formerly and within this study. More particularly and very interestingly, this model explains the impact of the G>R³⁰⁴ mutation on TMEM165's function. These findings provide great confidence in the predicted TMEM165 model whose structural features are discussed in the study and compared to other structural and functional TMEM165 homologs from the CaCA2/UPF0016 family and the LysE superfamily.

Golgi in and out: multifaceted role and journey of manganese

Manganese (Mn) is pivotal for plant growth and development but little is known about the processes that control its homeostasis in the cell. A spotlight on the pools of intracellular manganese and their cellular function has recently been gained through the characterization of new Mn transporters. In particular, transporters catalyzing the ins and outs of Mn at the various Golgi membranes have revealed the central role of the Golgi pool of Mn in the synthesis of the cell wall and as a reservoir for the numerous cellular Mn-dependent pathways whose calibration relies on a set of Golgi-resident transporters of the BICAT and NRAMP families.

Dissecting the relative contribution of ECA3 and group 8/9 cation diffusion facilitators to manganese homeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana

Manganese (Mn) is an essential micronutrient for plant growth but becomes toxic when present in excess. A number of Arabidopsis proteins are involved in Mn transport including ECA3, MTPs, and NRAMPs; however, their relative contributions to Mn homeostasis remain to be demonstrated. A major focus here was to clarify the importance of ECA3 in responding to Mn deficiency and toxicity using a range of mutants. We show that ECA3 localizes to the trans-Golgi and plays a major role in response to Mn deficiency with severe effects seen in eca3 nramp1 nramp2 under low Mn supply. ECA3 plays a minor role in Mn-toxicity tolerance, but only when the cis-Golgi-localized MTP11 is non-functional. We also use mutants and overexpressors to determine the relative contributions of MTP members to Mn homeostasis. The trans-Golgi-localized MTP10 plays a role in Mn-toxicity tolerance, but this is only revealed in mutants when MTP8 and MTP11 are non-functional and when overexpressed in mtp11 mutants. MTP8 and MTP10 confer greater Mn-toxicity resistance to the pmr1 yeast mutant than MTP11, and an important role for the first aspartate in the fifth transmembrane domain DxxxD motif is demonstrated. Overall, new insight into the relative influence of key transporters in Mn homeostasis is provided.

Golgi-localized calcium/manganese transporters FgGdt1 and FgPmr1 regulate fungal development and virulence by maintaining Ca2+ and Mn2+ homeostasis in Fusarium graminearum

Calcium and manganese transporters play important roles in regulating Ca²⁺ and Mn²⁺ homeostasis in cells, which is necessary for the normal physiological activities of eukaryotes. Gdt1 and Pmr1 function as calcium/manganese transporters in the Golgi apparatus. However, the functions of Gdt1 and Pmr1 have not been previously characterized in the plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum. Here, we identified and characterized the biological functions of FgGdt1 and FgPmr1 in F. graminearum. Our study shows that FgGdt1 and FgPmr1 are both localized to the cis- and medial-Golgi. Disruption of FgGdt1 or FgPmr1 in F. graminearum caused serious defects in vegetative growth, conidiation, sexual development and significantly decreased virulence in wheat but increased deoxynivalenol (DON) production. Importantly, FgGdt1 is involved in Ca²⁺ and Mn²⁺ homeostasis and the severe phenotypic defects of the ΔFggdt1 mutant were largely due to loss of FgGdt1 function in Mn²⁺ transportation. FgGdt1-mCherry colocalizes with FgPmr1-GFP at the Golgi, and FgGDT1 exerts its biological function upstream of FgPMR1. Taken together, our results collectively demonstrate that the cis- and medial-Golgi-localized proteins FgGdt1 and FgPmr1 regulate Ca²⁺ and Mn²⁺ homeostasis of the Golgi apparatus, and this function is important in modulating the growth, development, DON biosynthesis and pathogenicity of F. graminearum.

Towards understanding the extensive diversity of protein N-glycan structures in eukaryotes

N-glycosylation is an important post-translational modification of proteins that has been highly conserved during evolution and is found in Eukaryota, Bacteria and Archaea. In eukaryotes, N-glycan processing is sequential, involving multiple specific steps within the secretory pathway as proteins travel through the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus. In this review, we first summarize the different steps of the N-glycan processing and further describe recent findings regarding the diversity of N-glycan structures in eukaryotic clades. This comparison allows us to explore the different regulation mechanisms of N-glycan processing among eukaryotic clades. Recent findings regarding the regulation of protein N-glycosylation are highlighted, especially the regulation of the biosynthesis of complex-type N-glycans through manganese and calcium homeostasis and the specific role of transmembrane protein 165 (TMEM165) for which homologous sequences have been identified in several eukaryotic clades. Further research will be required to characterize the function of TMEM165 homologous sequences in different eukaryotic clades.

Metal transporters in organelles and their roles in heavy metal transportation and sequestration mechanisms in plants

Heavy metal toxicity is one of the major concerns for agriculture and health. Accumulation of toxic heavy metals at high concentrations in edible parts of crop plants is the primary cause of disease in humans and cattle. A dramatic increase in industrialization, urbanization, and other high anthropogenic activities has led to the accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soil, which has consequently disrupted soil conditions and affected crop yield. By now, plants have developed several mechanisms to cope with heavy metal stress. However, not all plants are equally effective in dealing with the toxicity of high heavy metal concentrations. Plants have modified their anatomy, morphophysiology, and molecular networks to survive under changing environmental conditions. Heavy metal sequestration is one of the essential processes evolved by some plants to deal with heavy metals' toxic concentration. Some plants even have the ability to accumulate metals in high quantities in the shoots/organelles without toxic effects. For intercellular and interorganeller metal transport, plants harbor spatially distributed various transporters which mainly help in uptake, translocation, and redistribution of metals. This review discusses different heavy metal transporters in different organelles and their roles in metal sequestration and redistribution to help plants cope with heavy metal stress. A good understanding of the processes at stake helps in developing more tolerant crops without affecting their productivity.

Golgi-localised manganese transporter PML3 regulates Arabidopsis growth through modulating Golgi glycosylation and cell wall biosynthesis

Golgi is a critical compartment for both the reutilisation of the essential micronutrient manganese (Mn) and its detoxification. However, whether Mn plays a role in the Golgi remains to be demonstrated in plants. We characterised the function of PML3, a member of the Unknown Protein Family UPF0016, in Mn transport and the regulation of plant growth, Golgi glycosylation and cell wall biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. We also investigated the relationship of PML3 with NRAMP2, a trans-Golgi network localised Mn transporter. PML3-GFP is preferentially localised in the cis-Golgi. PML3 can transport Mn to rescue the hypersensitivity of yeast mutant Δpmr1 to excess Mn. Two mutant alleles of PML3 displayed reduced plant growth and impaired seed development under Mn-deficient conditions. The pml3 mutants also showed impaired Golgi glycosylation and cell wall biosynthesis under Mn deficiency. Double mutations of PML3 and NRAMP2 showed improved plant growth compared with that of single mutants under Mn deficiency, implying that PML3 and NRAMP2 play opposite roles in the regulation of Golgi Mn levels. Our results suggest that PML3 mediates Mn uptake into the Golgi compartments, which is required for proper protein glycosylation and cell wall biosynthesis under Mn-deficient conditions.

A Golgi-localized manganese transporter functions in pollen tube tip growth to control male fertility in Arabidopsis

Manganese (Mn) serves as an essential cofactor for many enzymes in various compartments of a plant cell. Allocation of Mn among various organelles thus plays a central role in Mn homeostasis to support metabolic processes. We report the identification of a Golgi-localized Mn transporter (named PML3) that is essential for rapid cell elongation in young tissues such as emerging leaves and the pollen tube. In particular, the pollen tube defect in the pml3 loss-of-function mutant caused severe reduction in seed yield, a critical agronomic trait. Further analysis suggested that a loss of pectin deposition in the pollen tube might cause the pollen tube to burst and slow its elongation, leading to decreased male fertility. As the Golgi apparatus serves as the major hub for biosynthesis and modification of cell-wall components, PML3 may function in Mn homeostasis of this organelle, thereby controlling metabolic and/or trafficking processes required for pectin deposition in rapidly elongating cells.

Gene Replacement in Arabidopsis Reveals Manganese Transport as an Ancient Feature of Human, Plant and Cyanobacterial UPF0016 Proteins

The protein family 0016 (UPF0016) is conserved through evolution, and the few members characterized share a function in Mn²⁺ transport. So far, little is known about the history of these proteins in Eukaryotes. In Arabidopsis thaliana five such proteins, comprising four different subcellular localizations including chloroplasts, have been described, whereas non-photosynthetic Eukaryotes have only one. We used a phylogenetic approach to classify the eukaryotic proteins into two subgroups and performed gene-replacement studies to investigate UPF0016 genes of various origins. Replaceability can be scored readily in the Arabidopsis UPF0016 transporter mutant pam71, which exhibits a functional deficiency in photosystem II. The N-terminal region of the Arabidopsis PAM71 was used to direct selected proteins to chloroplast membranes. Transgenic pam71 lines overexpressing the closest plant homolog (CMT1), human TMEM165 or cyanobacterial MNX successfully restored photosystem II efficiency, manganese binding to photosystem II complexes and consequently plant growth rate and biomass production. Thus AtCMT1, HsTMEM165, and SynMNX can operate in the thylakoid membrane and substitute for PAM71 in a non-native environment, indicating that the manganese transport function of UPF0016 proteins is an ancient feature of the family. We propose that the two chloroplast-localized UPF0016 proteins, CMT1 and PAM71, in plants originated from the cyanobacterial endosymbiont that gave rise to the organelle.

From the Uncharacterized Protein Family 0016 to the GDT1 family: Molecular insights into a newly-characterized family of cation secondary transporters

The Uncharacterized Protein Family 0016 (UPF0016) gathers poorly studied membrane proteins well conserved through evolution that possess one or two copies of the consensus motif Glu-x-Gly-Asp-(Arg/Lys)-(Ser/Thr). Members are found in many eukaryotes, bacteria and archaea. The interest for this protein family arose in 2012 when its human member TMEM165 was linked to the occurrence of Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDGs) when harbouring specific mutations. Study of the UPF0016 family is undergone through the characterization of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae (MneA), cyanobacterium Synechocystis (SynPAM71), yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Gdt1p), plant Arabidopsis thaliana (PAM71 and CMT1), and human (TMEM165) members. These proteins have all been identified as transporters of cations, more precisely of Mn²⁺, with an extra reported function in Ca²⁺ and/or H⁺ transport for some of them. Apart from glycosylation in humans, the UPF0016 members are required for lactation in humans, photosynthesis in plants and cyanobacteria, Ca²⁺ signaling in yeast, and Mn²⁺ homeostasis in the five aforementioned species. The requirement of the UPF0016 members for key physiological processes most likely derives from their transport activity at the Golgi membrane in human and yeast, the chloroplasts membranes in plants, the thylakoid and plasma membranes in cyanobacteria, and the cell membrane in bacteria. In the light of these studies on various UPF0016 members, this family is not considered as uncharacterized anymore and has been renamed the Gdt1 family according to the name of its S. cerevisiae member. This review aims at assembling and confronting the current knowledge in order to identify shared and distinct features in terms of transported molecules, mode of action, structure, etc., as well as to better understand their corresponding physiological roles.