Caesium accumulation in yeast and plants is selectively repressed by loss of the SNARE Sec22p/SEC22

Stephan Dräxl (), Johannes Müller, Wei B. Li, Bernhard Michalke, Hagen Scherb, Burkhard A. Hense, Jochen Tschiersch, Ulrike Kanter and Anton R. Schäffner ()
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Stephan Dräxl: Institute of Radiation Protection, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health
Johannes Müller: Center for Mathematical Sciences, Technische Universität München
Wei B. Li: Research Unit Medical Radiation Physics and Diagnostics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health
Bernhard Michalke: Research Unit Analytical BioGeoChemistry, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health
Hagen Scherb: Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health
Burkhard A. Hense: Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health
Jochen Tschiersch: Institute of Radiation Protection, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health
Ulrike Kanter: Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health
Anton R. Schäffner: Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The non-essential cation caesium (Cs+) is assimilated by all organisms. Thus, anthropogenically released radiocaesium is of concern to agriculture. Cs+ accumulates owing to its chemical similarity to the potassium ion (K+). The apparent lack of a Cs+-specific uptake mechanism has obstructed attempts to manipulate Cs+ accumulation without causing pleiotropic effects. Here we show that the SNARE protein Sec22p/SEC22 specifically impacts Cs+ accumulation in yeast and in plants. Loss of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sec22p does not affect K+ homeostasis, yet halves Cs+ concentration compared with the wild type. Mathematical modelling of the uptake time course predicts a compromised vacuolar Cs+ deposition in sec22Δ. Biochemical fractionation confirms this and indicates a new feature of Sec22p in enhancing non-selective cation deposition. A developmentally controlled loss-of-function mutant of the orthologous Arabidopsis thaliana SEC22 phenocopies the reduced Cs+ uptake without affecting plant growth. This finding provides a new strategy to reduce radiocaesium entry into the food chain.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3092

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