Inverse pH regulation of plant and fungal sucrose transporters: a mechanism to regulate competition for sucrose at the host/pathogen interface?

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 5; no. 8; p. e12429
• Main Authors: Wippel, Kathrin, Wittek, Anke, Hedrich, Rainer, Sauer, Norbert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 26.08.2010; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Biological Transport; Corn; Corn smut; E coli; Fungal Proteins - chemistry; Fungal Proteins - genetics; Fungal Proteins - metabolism; Fungi; Glutathione; Host plants; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Hydrogen ions; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Membrane Transport Proteins - chemistry; Membrane Transport Proteins - genetics; Membrane Transport Proteins - metabolism; Oocytes; Oocytes - chemistry; Oocytes - metabolism; Oxidation; Oxidation-Reduction; Pathogens; Permeability; pH effects; Physiology; Plant Biology; Plant Biology/Plant Cell Biology; Plant Biology/Plant-Biotic Interactions; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Plant Proteins - chemistry; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plasma; Plasmids; Potatoes; Proteins; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - chemistry; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - genetics; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - metabolism; Sucrose; Sucrose - metabolism; Sucrose transporter; Sugar; Ustilago - chemistry; Ustilago - genetics; Ustilago - metabolism; Ustilago maydis; Xenopus laevis; Yeast; Zea mays; Zea mays - chemistry; Zea mays - genetics; Zea mays - metabolism; Germany
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012429

Plant sucrose transporter activities were shown to respond to changes in the extracellular pH and redox status, and oxidizing compounds like glutathione (GSSG) or H(2)O(2) were reported to effect the subcellular targeting of these proteins. We hypothesized that changes in both parameters might be used to modulate the activities of competing sucrose transporters at a plant/pathogen interface. We, therefore, compared the effects of redox-active compounds and of extracellular pH on the sucrose transporters UmSRT1 and ZmSUT1 known to compete for extracellular sucrose in the Ustilago maydis (corn smut)/Zea mays (maize) pathosystem. We present functional analyses of the U. maydis sucrose transporter UmSRT1 and of the plant sucrose transporters ZmSUT1 and StSUT1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae or in Xenopus laevis oocytes in the presence of different extracellular pH-values and redox systems, and study the possible effects of these treatments on the subcellular targeting. We observed an inverse regulation of host and pathogen sucrose transporters by changes in the apoplastic pH. Under none of the conditions analyzed, we could confirm the reported effects of redox-active compounds. Our data suggest that changes in the extracellular pH but not of the extracellular redox status might be used to oppositely adjust the transport activities of plant and fungal sucrose transporters at the host/pathogen interface.