Department of Biology

From Plant Physiology to Structure-Function Studies of Plant Membrane Transporters Underlying Key Agronomic Traits

Dr. Miguel Pinerso

November 10, 2021
4-5pm

Hosted By Dr. Ayalew Osena

Abstract

There is growing awareness that plant transporters play a central role in facilitating plant adaptation to adverse environments. For instance, some plants species overcome aluminum (Al) phytotoxicity by releasing organic acid anions (OA) from the root, which chelate and immobilize Al 3+ ions in the rhizosphere. Al toxicity constitutes a major limitation to crop productivity in acid soils, which represent about half of the world’s arable lands. Members of the ALMT (Al-activated malate transporter) and MATE (multidrug and toxic compound efflux) transporter families are the key transporters underlying the release of OA’s in response to Al stress. My current research focuses on understanding how the structural features of these membrane proteins determine their
functional characteristics (i.e. transport properties). We have integrated electrophysiological analysis with cellular imaging approaches to conduct a structure-function analysis aimed at determining the transporters’ topology, stoichiometry, function and regulation. Although ALMT and MATE proteins underlie analogous Al resistance mechanisms, their structural and functional properties are very distinct. These studies are providing a new framework for understanding the function of plant transporters in the context of their roles in planta, with the ultimate goal of “engineering” their functional characteristics to enhance their ability to confer higher levels of Al resistance to crop plants grown on acid soils.