PROTEIN TARGETING TO STARCH is required for localising GRANULE-BOUND STARCH SYNTHASE to starch granules and for normal amylose synthesis in Arabidopsis

PLoS Biol. 2015 Feb 24;13(2):e1002080. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002080. eCollection 2015 Feb.

Abstract

The domestication of starch crops underpinned the development of human civilisation, yet we still do not fully understand how plants make starch. Starch is composed of glucose polymers that are branched (amylopectin) or linear (amylose). The amount of amylose strongly influences the physico-chemical behaviour of starchy foods during cooking and of starch mixtures in non-food manufacturing processes. The GRANULE-BOUND STARCH SYNTHASE (GBSS) is the glucosyltransferase specifically responsible for elongating amylose polymers and was the only protein known to be required for its biosynthesis. Here, we demonstrate that PROTEIN TARGETING TO STARCH (PTST) is also specifically required for amylose synthesis in Arabidopsis. PTST is a plastidial protein possessing an N-terminal coiled coil domain and a C-terminal carbohydrate binding module (CBM). We discovered that Arabidopsis ptst mutants synthesise amylose-free starch and are phenotypically similar to mutants lacking GBSS. Analysis of granule-bound proteins showed a dramatic reduction of GBSS protein in ptst mutant starch granules. Pull-down assays with recombinant proteins in vitro, as well as immunoprecipitation assays in planta, revealed that GBSS physically interacts with PTST via a coiled coil. Furthermore, we show that the CBM domain of PTST, which mediates its interaction with starch granules, is also required for correct GBSS localisation. Fluorescently tagged Arabidopsis GBSS, expressed either in tobacco or Arabidopsis leaves, required the presence of Arabidopsis PTST to localise to starch granules. Mutation of the CBM of PTST caused GBSS to remain in the plastid stroma. PTST fulfils a previously unknown function in targeting GBSS to starch. This sheds new light on the importance of targeting biosynthetic enzymes to sub-cellular sites where their action is required. Importantly, PTST represents a promising new gene target for the biotechnological modification of starch composition, as it is exclusively involved in amylose synthesis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amylopectin / metabolism
  • Amylose / biosynthesis*
  • Arabidopsis / classification
  • Arabidopsis / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism
  • Breeding
  • Cytoplasmic Granules / chemistry
  • Cytoplasmic Granules / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant*
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Leaves / genetics
  • Plant Leaves / metabolism
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Starch Synthase / genetics*
  • Starch Synthase / metabolism

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Amylose
  • Amylopectin
  • Starch Synthase

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the Swiss-South African Joint Research Programme (Grant Number IZLSZ3_148857/1 to S.C.Z.), by a Heinz-Imhof Fellowship from the ETH Foundation (to D.S.), and by ETH Zurich. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.