Dissecting role of sucrose and GA recognition in SWEET transporters

2021 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19H00932
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: Frommer Wolf 名古屋大学, トランスフォーマティブ生命分子研究所, 客員教授 (70795575)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: Phytohormone / Gibberellic acid / Sugar / SWEETs / Transporter

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

Substrate selectivity of transporters is critical to accomplish the complex systems in biological processes. However, the molecular mechanisms of substrate selectivity of transporters have not been fully elucidated. SWEETs, which recently we identified, play essential roles through the transport activity for sucrose and/or glucose. In addition to sugars, SWEETs can transport gibberellic acid (GA), a hormone that regulates many important aspects of plant growth and development. Sugars and phytohormones are essential to the fundamental processes of plant development and growth. It has remained unclear, however, which spectrum of substrates SWEETs can transport, and how SWEETs can transport substrates as different as sucrose and GA. To understand the molecular mechanisms of substrate selectivity of plant transporters, we studied the substrate recognition of SWEETs using molecular docking and molecular dynamics. The docking studies have revealed residues of AtSWEET13 involved in binding GA and/or sucrose. To investigate the residues required to transport substrate, the in-cell transporter activity assay using fluorescent probes and mammalian cells were established. We here dissected the relative contribution of sucrose and GA by engineering the relative selectivity of SWEET13 and evaluating the ability of mutant forms to restore fertility of sweet13;14 double mutants.

Research Progress Status

令和3年度が最終年度であるため、記入しない。

Strategy for Future Research Activity

令和3年度が最終年度であるため、記入しない。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] <i>OsSWEET11b</i>, a potential sixth leaf blight susceptibility gene involved in sugar transport‐dependent male fertility (2022)
  • Author(s): Wu L-B, Eom J-S, Isoda R, Li C, Char SN, Luo D, Schepler‐Luu V, Nakamura M, Yang B, Frommer WB
  • Journal Title: New Phytologist Volume: 234 Pages: 975-989
  • DOI: 10.1111/nph.18054
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Sensors for the quantification, localization and analysis of the dynamics of plant hormones (2021)
  • Author(s): Isoda R, Yoshinari A, Ishikawa Y, Sadoine M, Simon R, Frommer WB, Nakamura M
  • Journal Title: The Plant Journal Volume: 105 Pages: 542-557
  • DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15096
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Advances in Synthetic Fluorescent Probe Labeling for Live-Cell Imaging in Plants (2021)
  • Author(s): Yagi N, Yoshinari A, Iwatate RJ, Isoda R, Frommer WB, Nakamura M
  • Journal Title: Plant and Cell Physiology Volume: 62 Pages: 1259-1268
  • DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcab104
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research