Identification of a plastidial phenylalanine exporter that influences flux distribution through the phenylalanine biosynthetic network

Joshua R. Widhalm, Michael Gutensohn, Heejin Yoo, Funmilayo Adebesin, Yichun Qian, Longyun Guo, Rohit Jaini, Joseph H. Lynch, Rachel M. McCoy, Jacob T. Shreve, Jyothi Thimmapuram, David Rhodes, John A. Morgan and Natalia Dudareva ()
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Joshua R. Widhalm: Purdue University
Michael Gutensohn: Purdue University
Heejin Yoo: Purdue University
Funmilayo Adebesin: Purdue University
Yichun Qian: Purdue University
Longyun Guo: Purdue University
Rohit Jaini: School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University
Joseph H. Lynch: Purdue University
Rachel M. McCoy: Purdue University
Jacob T. Shreve: Bioinformatics Core, Purdue University
Jyothi Thimmapuram: Bioinformatics Core, Purdue University
David Rhodes: Purdue University
John A. Morgan: Purdue University
Natalia Dudareva: Purdue University

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract In addition to proteins, L-phenylalanine is a versatile precursor for thousands of plant metabolites. Production of phenylalanine-derived compounds is a complex multi-compartmental process using phenylalanine synthesized predominantly in plastids as precursor. The transporter(s) exporting phenylalanine from plastids, however, remains unknown. Here, a gene encoding a Petunia hybrida plastidial cationic amino-acid transporter (PhpCAT) functioning in plastidial phenylalanine export is identified based on homology to an Escherichia coli phenylalanine transporter and co-expression with phenylalanine metabolic genes. Radiolabel transport assays show that PhpCAT exports all three aromatic amino acids. PhpCAT downregulation and overexpression result in decreased and increased levels, respectively, of phenylalanine-derived volatiles, as well as phenylalanine, tyrosine and their biosynthetic intermediates. Metabolic flux analysis reveals that flux through the plastidial phenylalanine biosynthetic pathway is reduced in PhpCAT RNAi lines, suggesting that the rate of phenylalanine export from plastids contributes to regulating flux through the aromatic amino-acid network.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9142

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