Molecular mechanism of sugar transport in plants unveiled by structures of glucose/H+ symporter STP10

Laust Bavnhøj; Peter Aasted Paulsen; Jose C. Flores-Canales; Birgit Schiøtt; Bjørn Panyella Pedersen

doi:10.1038/s41477-021-00992-0

Molecular mechanism of sugar transport in plants unveiled by structures of glucose/H⁺ symporter STP10

Laust Bavnhøj, Peter Aasted Paulsen, Jose C. Flores-Canales, Birgit Schiøtt, Bjørn Panyella Pedersen^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Sugars are essential sources of energy and carbon and also function as key signalling molecules in plants. Sugar transport proteins (STP) are proton-coupled symporters responsible for uptake of glucose from the apoplast into plant cells. They are integral to organ development in symplastically isolated tissues such as seed, pollen and fruit. Additionally, STPs play a vital role in plant responses to stressors such as dehydration and prevalent fungal infections like rust and mildew. Here we present a structure of Arabidopsis thaliana STP10 in the inward-open conformation at 2.6 Å resolution and a structure of the outward-occluded conformation at improved 1.8 Å resolution, both with glucose and protons bound. The two structures describe key states in the STP transport cycle. Together with molecular dynamics simulations that establish protonation states and biochemical analysis, they pinpoint structural elements, conserved in all STPs, that clarify the basis of proton-to-glucose coupling. These results advance our understanding of monosaccharide uptake, which is essential for plant organ development, and set the stage for bioengineering strategies in crops.

Original language	English
Journal	Nature Plants
Volume	7
Issue	10
Pages (from-to)	1409-1419
Number of pages	11
ISSN	2055-0278
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-00992-0
Publication status	Published - Oct 2021

Keywords

CRYSTAL-STRUCTURE
DYNAMICS
ELECTROSTATICS
EXPRESSION
FORCE-FIELD
GENES
GUI MEMBRANE-BUILDER
HEXOSE TRANSPORTER
IDENTIFICATION
PROTEIN-SEQUENCE

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title = "Molecular mechanism of sugar transport in plants unveiled by structures of glucose/H+ symporter STP10",

abstract = "Sugars are essential sources of energy and carbon and also function as key signalling molecules in plants. Sugar transport proteins (STP) are proton-coupled symporters responsible for uptake of glucose from the apoplast into plant cells. They are integral to organ development in symplastically isolated tissues such as seed, pollen and fruit. Additionally, STPs play a vital role in plant responses to stressors such as dehydration and prevalent fungal infections like rust and mildew. Here we present a structure of Arabidopsis thaliana STP10 in the inward-open conformation at 2.6 {\AA} resolution and a structure of the outward-occluded conformation at improved 1.8 {\AA} resolution, both with glucose and protons bound. The two structures describe key states in the STP transport cycle. Together with molecular dynamics simulations that establish protonation states and biochemical analysis, they pinpoint structural elements, conserved in all STPs, that clarify the basis of proton-to-glucose coupling. These results advance our understanding of monosaccharide uptake, which is essential for plant organ development, and set the stage for bioengineering strategies in crops.",

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author = "Laust Bavnh{\o}j and Paulsen, {Peter Aasted} and Flores-Canales, {Jose C.} and Birgit Schi{\o}tt and Pedersen, {Bj{\o}rn Panyella}",

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year = "2021",

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doi = "10.1038/s41477-021-00992-0",

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Molecular mechanism of sugar transport in plants unveiled by structures of glucose/H⁺ symporter STP10. / Bavnhøj, Laust; Paulsen, Peter Aasted; Flores-Canales, Jose C. et al.
In: Nature Plants, Vol. 7, No. 10, 10.2021, p. 1409-1419.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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AU - Bavnhøj, Laust

AU - Paulsen, Peter Aasted

AU - Flores-Canales, Jose C.

AU - Schiøtt, Birgit

AU - Pedersen, Bjørn Panyella

PY - 2021/10

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AB - Sugars are essential sources of energy and carbon and also function as key signalling molecules in plants. Sugar transport proteins (STP) are proton-coupled symporters responsible for uptake of glucose from the apoplast into plant cells. They are integral to organ development in symplastically isolated tissues such as seed, pollen and fruit. Additionally, STPs play a vital role in plant responses to stressors such as dehydration and prevalent fungal infections like rust and mildew. Here we present a structure of Arabidopsis thaliana STP10 in the inward-open conformation at 2.6 Å resolution and a structure of the outward-occluded conformation at improved 1.8 Å resolution, both with glucose and protons bound. The two structures describe key states in the STP transport cycle. Together with molecular dynamics simulations that establish protonation states and biochemical analysis, they pinpoint structural elements, conserved in all STPs, that clarify the basis of proton-to-glucose coupling. These results advance our understanding of monosaccharide uptake, which is essential for plant organ development, and set the stage for bioengineering strategies in crops.

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KW - GUI MEMBRANE-BUILDER

KW - HEXOSE TRANSPORTER

KW - IDENTIFICATION

KW - PROTEIN-SEQUENCE

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Molecular mechanism of sugar transport in plants unveiled by structures of glucose/H⁺ symporter STP10

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