AQPs (aquaporins) are conserved in all kingdoms of life and facilitate the rapid diffusion of water and/or other small solutes across cell membranes. Among the different plant AQPs, PIPs (plasma membrane intrinsic proteins), which fall into two phylogenetic groups, PIP1 and PIP2, play key roles in plant water transport processes. PIPs form tetramers in which each monomer acts as a functional channel. The intermolecular interactions that stabilize PIP oligomer complexes and are responsible for the resistance of PIP dimers to denaturating conditions are not well characterized. In the present study, we identified a highly conserved cysteine residue in loop A of PIP1 and PIP2 proteins and demonstrated by mutagenesis that it is involved in the formation of a disulfide bond between two monomers. Although this cysteine seems not to be involved in regulation of trafficking to the plasma membrane, activity, substrate selectivity or oxidative gating of ZmPIP1s (Zm is Zea mays), ZmPIP2s and hetero-oligomers, it increases oligomer stability under denaturating conditions. In addition, when PIP1 and PIP2 are co-expressed, the loop A cysteine of ZmPIP1;2, but not that of ZmPIP2;5, is involved in the mercury sensitivity of the channels.
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Research Article|
June 15 2012
A conserved cysteine residue is involved in disulfide bond formation between plant plasma membrane aquaporin monomers
Gerd P. Bienert;
Gerd P. Bienert
1
*Institut des Sciences de la Vie, Université Catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud, 4-L7.07.14, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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Damien Cavez;
Damien Cavez
1
*Institut des Sciences de la Vie, Université Catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud, 4-L7.07.14, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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Arnaud Besserer;
Arnaud Besserer
*Institut des Sciences de la Vie, Université Catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud, 4-L7.07.14, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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Marie C. Berny;
Marie C. Berny
*Institut des Sciences de la Vie, Université Catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud, 4-L7.07.14, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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Dimitri Gilis;
Dimitri Gilis
†Bioinformatique génomique et structurale, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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Marianne Rooman;
Marianne Rooman
†Bioinformatique génomique et structurale, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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François Chaumont
François Chaumont
2
*Institut des Sciences de la Vie, Université Catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud, 4-L7.07.14, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
2To whom correspondence should be addressed (email francois.chaumont@uclouvain.be).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
September 23 2011
Revision Received:
April 03 2012
Accepted:
April 17 2012
Accepted Manuscript online:
April 17 2012
Online ISSN: 1470-8728
Print ISSN: 0264-6021
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2012 Biochemical Society
2012
Biochem J (2012) 445 (1): 101–111.
Article history
Received:
September 23 2011
Revision Received:
April 03 2012
Accepted:
April 17 2012
Accepted Manuscript online:
April 17 2012
Citation
Gerd P. Bienert, Damien Cavez, Arnaud Besserer, Marie C. Berny, Dimitri Gilis, Marianne Rooman, François Chaumont; A conserved cysteine residue is involved in disulfide bond formation between plant plasma membrane aquaporin monomers. Biochem J 1 July 2012; 445 (1): 101–111. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BJ20111704
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