Tolerance to toxic metals by a gene family of phytochelatin synthases from plants and yeast.

Phytochelatins play major roles in metal detoxification in plants and fungi. However, genes encoding phytochelatin synthases have not yet been identified. By screening for plant genes mediating metal tolerance we identified a wheat cDNA, TaPCS1, whose expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae results in a dramatic increase in cadmium tolerance. TaPCS1 encodes a protein of approximately 55 kDa with no similarity to proteins of known function. We identified homologs of this new gene family from Arabidopsis thaliana, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and interestingly also Caenorhabditis elegans. The Arabidopsis and S.pombe genes were also demonstrated to confer substantial increases in metal tolerance in yeast. PCS-expressing cells accumulate more Cd2+ than controls. PCS expression mediates Cd2+ tolerance even in yeast mutants that are either deficient in vacuolar acidification or impaired in vacuolar biogenesis. PCS-induced metal resistance is lost upon exposure to an inhibitor of glutathione biosynthesis, a process necessary for phytochelatin formation. Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells disrupted in the PCS gene exhibit hypersensitivity to Cd2+ and Cu2+ and are unable to synthesize phytochelatins upon Cd2+ exposure as determined by HPLC analysis. Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells expressing PCS produce phytochelatins. Moreover, the recombinant purified S.pombe PCS protein displays phytochelatin synthase activity. These data demonstrate that PCS genes encode phytochelatin synthases and mediate metal detoxification in eukaryotes.     

Purification and characterization of ACR2p, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae arsenate reductase

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, expression of the ACR2 and ACR3 genes confers arsenical resistance. Acr2p is the first identified eukaryotic arsenate reductase. It reduces arsenate to arsenite, which is then extruded from cells by Acr3p. In this study, we demonstrate that ACR2 complemented the arsenate-sensitive phenotype of an arsC deletion in Escherichia coli. ACR2 was cloned into a bacterial expression vector and expressed in E. coli as a C-terminally histidine-tagged protein that was purified by sequential metal chelate affinity and gel filtration chromatography. Acr2p purified as a homodimer of 34 kDa. The purified protein was shown to catalyze the reduction of arsenate to arsenite. Enzymatic activity as a function of arsenate concentration exhibited an apparent positive cooperativity with an apparent Hill coefficient of 2.7. Activity required GSH and glutaredoxin as the source of reducing equivalents. Thioredoxin was unable to support arsenate reduction. However, glutaredoxins from both S. cerevisiae and E. coli were able to serve as reductants. Analysis of grx mutants lacking one or both cysteine residues in the Cys-Pro-Tyr-Cys active site demonstrated that only the N-terminal cysteine residue is essential for arsenate reductase activity. This suggests that during the catalytic cycle, Acr2p forms a mixed disulfide with GSH before being reduced by glutaredoxin to regenerate the active Acr2p reductase.     

The phosphatase C(X)5R motif is required for catalytic activity of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Acr2p arsenate reductase.

Acr2p detoxifies arsenate by reduction to arsenite in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This reductase has been shown to require glutathione and glutaredoxin, suggesting that thiol chemistry might be involved in the reaction mechanism. Acr2p has a HC(X)(5)R motif, the signature sequence of the phosphate binding loop of the dual-specific and protein-tyrosine phosphatase family. In Acr2p these are residues His-75, Cys-76, and Arg-82, respectively. Acr2p has another sequence, (118)HCR, that is absent in phosphatases. Acr2p also has a third cysteine residue at position 106. Each of these cysteine residues was changed individually to serine residues, whereas the histidine and arginine residues were altered to alanines. Cells of Escherichia coli heterologously expressing the majority of the mutant ACR2 genes retained wild type resistance to arsenate, and the purified altered Acr2p proteins exhibited normal enzymatic properties. In contrast, cells expressing either the C76S or R82A mutations lost resistance to arsenate, and the purified proteins were inactive. These results suggest that Acr2p utilizes a phosphatase-like Cys(X)(5)Arg motif as the catalytic center to reduce arsenate to arsenite.     

Acr3p is a plasma membrane antiporter that catalyzes As(III)/H(+) and Sb(III)/H(+) exchange in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Resistance to arsenical compounds in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as in a growing number of prokaryotes and eukaryotes is mediated by members of the Acr3 family of transporters. In yeast cells, it has been clearly shown that Acr3p is localized to the plasma membrane and facilitates efflux of trivalent arsenic and antimony. However, until now, the energy dependence and kinetic properties of Acr3 proteins remained uncharacterized. In this work, we show that arsenite and antimonite uptake into everted membrane vesicles via the yeast Acr3 transporter is coupled to the electrochemical potential gradient of protons generated by the plasma membrane H(+)-translocating P-type ATPase. These results strongly indicate that Acr3p acts as a metalloid/H(+) antiporter. Two differential kinetic assays revealed that Acr3p-mediated arsenite/H(+) and antimonite/H(+) exchange demonstrates Michaelis-Menten-type saturation kinetics characterized by a maximum flux for permeating metalloids. The approximate K(m) values for arsenite and antimonite transport were the same, suggesting that Acr3p exhibits similar low affinity for both metalloids. Nevertheless, the maximal velocity of the transport at saturation concentrations of metalloids was approximately 3 times higher for arsenite than for antimonite. These findings may explain a predominant role of Acr3p in conferring arsenite tolerance in S. cerevisiae.     

Functional conservation between fission yeast moc1/sds23 and its two orthologs, budding yeast SDS23 and SDS24, and phenotypic differences in their disruptants

The moc1/sds23 gene was isolated to induce sexual development of a sterile strain due to overexpression of adenylate cyclase in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Here, we studied the functional conservation between moc1/sds23 and its two orthologs SDS23 and SDS24 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We observed that the temperature sensitivity, salt tolerance, cell morphology, and sterility of the Deltamoc1 mutant in S. pombe were recovered by expressing either S. cerevisiae SDS23 or SDS24. We found that deletion of both SDS23 and SDS24 resulted in the production of a large vacuole that was reversed by the expression of S. pombe moc1/sds23. In these ways we found that S. pombe Moc1/Sds23 and S. cerevisiae SDS23p or SDS24p are functional homologs. In addition we found that the Deltasds23 Deltasds24 diploid strain reduces cell separation in forming pseudohyphal-like growth in S. cerevisiae. Thus S. pombe moc1/sds23 and S. cerevisiae SDS23 or SDS24 are interchangeable with each other, but their disruptants are phenotypically dissimilar.     

Identification of a SNARE protein required for vacuolar protein transport in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Intracellular vesicle trafficking is mediated by a set of SNARE proteins in eukaryotic cells. Several SNARE proteins are required for vacuolar protein transport and vacuolar biogenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A search of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe genome database revealed a total of 17 SNARE-related genes. Although no homologs of Vam3p, Nyv1p, and Vam7p have been found in S. pombe, we identified one SNARE-like protein that is homologous to S. cerevisiae Pep12p. However, the disruptants transport vacuolar hydrolase CPY (SpCPY) to the vacuole normally, suggesting that the Pep12 homolog is not required for vacuolar protein transport in S. pombe cells. To identify the SNARE protein(s) involved in Golgi-to-vacuole protein transport, we have deleted four SNARE homolog genes in S. pombe. SpCPY was significantly missorted to the cell surface on deletion of one of the SNARE proteins, Fsv1p (SPAC6F12.03c), with no apparent S. cerevisiae ortholog. In addition, sporulation, endocytosis, and in vivo vacuolar fusion appear to be normal in fsv1Delta cells. These results showed that Fsv1p is mainly involved in vesicle-mediated protein transport between the Golgi and vacuole in S. pombe cells.