Caroline Vandermeeren’s research while affiliated with Catholic University of Louvain and other places

The plasma membrane H(+)-ATPases PMA2 and PMA4 are the most widely expressed in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia, and belong to two different subfamilies. Both are activated by phosphorylation of a Thr at the penultimate position and the subsequent binding of 14-3-3 proteins. Their expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed functional and regulatory differences. To determine whether different regulatory properties between PMA2 and PMA4 exist in plants, we generated two monoclonal antibodies able to detect phosphorylation of the penultimate Thr of either PMA2 or PMA4 in a total protein extract. We also raised Nicotiana tabacum transgenic plants expressing 6-His-tagged PMA2 or PMA4, enabling their individual purification. Using these tools we showed that phosphorylation of the penultimate Thr of both PMAs was high during the early exponential growth phase of an N. tabacum cell culture, and then progressively declined. This decline correlated with decreased 14-3-3 binding and decreased plasma membrane ATPase activity. However, the rate and extent of the decrease differed between the two isoforms. Cold stress of culture cells or leaf tissues reduced the Thr phosphorylation of PMA2, whereas no significant changes in Thr phosphorylation of PMA4 were seen. These results strongly suggest that PMA2 and PMA4 are differentially regulated by phosphorylation. Analysis of the H(+)-ATPase phosphorylation status in leaf tissues indicated that no more than 44% (PMA2) or 32% (PMA4) was in the activated state under normal growth conditions. Purification of either isoform showed that, when activated, the two isoforms did not form hetero-oligomers, which is further support for these two H(+)-ATPase subfamilies having different properties.

Regulatory 14-3-3 proteins activate the plant plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase by binding to its C-terminal autoinhibitory domain. This interaction requires phosphorylation of a C-terminal, mode III, recognition motif as well as an adjacent span of approximately 50 amino acids. Here we report the X-ray crystal structure of 14-3-3 in complex with the entire binding motif, revealing a previously unidentified mode of interaction. A 14-3-3 dimer simultaneously binds two H(+)-ATPase peptides, each of which forms a loop within the typical 14-3-3 binding groove and therefore exits from the center of the dimer. Several H(+)-ATPase mutants support this structure determination. Accordingly, 14-3-3 binding could result in H(+)-ATPase oligomerization. Indeed, by using single-particle electron cryomicroscopy, the 3D reconstruction of the purified H(+)-ATPase/14-3-3 complex demonstrates a hexameric arrangement. Fitting of 14-3-3 and H(+)-ATPase atomic structures into the 3D reconstruction map suggests the spatial arrangement of the holocomplex.

Plant plasma membrane H⁺-ATPases (PMAs) can be activated by phosphorylation of their penultimate residue (a Thr) and the subsequent binding of regulatory 14-3-3 proteins. Although 14-3-3 proteins usually exist as dimers and can bind two targets, the in vivo effects of their binding on the quaternary structure of H⁺-ATPases have never been examined. To address this question, we used a Nicotiana tabacum cell line expressing the Nicotiana plumbaginifolia PMA2 isoform with a 6-His tag. The purified PMA2 was mainly nonphosphorylated and 14-3-3-free, and it was shown by blue native gel electrophoresis and chemical cross-linking to exist as a dimer. Fusicoccin treatment of the cells resulted in a dramatic increase in Thr phosphorylation, 14-3-3 binding, and in vivo and in vitro ATPase activity, as well as in the conversion of the dimer into a larger, possibly hexameric, complex. PMA2 phosphorylation and 14-3-3 binding were observed also when cells in stationary growth phase were metabolically activated by transfer to fresh medium. When expressed in yeast, PMA2 was also phosphorylated and formed a complex with 14-3-3 proteins without requiring fusicoccin; no complex was observed when phosphorylation was prevented by mutagenesis. Single-particle analysis by cryoelectron microscopy showed that the PMA2–14-3-3 complex is a wheel-like structure with a 6-fold symmetry, suggesting that the activated complex consists of six H⁺-ATPase molecules and six 14-3-3 molecules. • quaternary structure • fusicoccin • Nicotiana • cryoelectron microscopy