Chloride Channels and Transporters of the CLC Family in Plants

• Published in: Russian journal of plant physiology Vol. 67; no. 5; pp. 767 - 784
• Main Authors: Nedelyaeva, O. I., Shuvalov, A. V., Balnokin, Yu. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.09.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abiotic factors; Anion channels; Anions; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Chloride; Chloride channels; Chloride ions; Cytoplasm; Endosomes; Eukaryotes; Homeostasis; Intracellular; Ion channels; Life Sciences; Membranes; Organelles; Physiology; Plant Physiology; Plant resistance; Plant Sciences; Plant species; Prokaryotes; Proteins; Reviews; Structure-function relationships; anion channels; anion homeostasis; chloride channel family (CLC); anion/proton antiporters
• ISSN: 1021-4437; 1608-3407
• DOI: 10.1134/S1021443720050106

Proteins of the chloride channel family CLC ( C h L oride C hannel) are found in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The family includes anion channels and anion/proton antiporters. In plants, the CLC proteins are found in various tissues and diverse intracellular membranes. They perform multiple functions and play important physiological roles, such as nitrate and chloride homeostasis at the cellular and whole plant levels, the regulation of transmembrane electrical potential and lumenal pH in organelles, the distribution of newly synthesized proteins among intracellular compartments, and the formation of plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stress factors. This review describes the currently known CLC proteins of plant origin whose genes are identified at the molecular-genetic and functional levels; the properties of CLC proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. and other plant species are discussed with emphasis on the results obtained in the last decade. The functional and structural aspects of plant CLC proteins, as well as their physiological roles under normal and stressful conditions, are considered. A hypothesis is put forward that the endosomes and the proteins of the CLC family localized in endosomal membranes are involved in maintaining the anionic balance in the cytoplasm. The prospects of further studies on plant CLC proteins are briefly considered.