Abstract
Plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs) are channels facilitating the passive diffusion of water and small solutes. Arabidopsis PIP2;7 trafficking occurs through physical interaction with SNARE proteins including the syntaxin SYP121, a plasma membrane Qa-SNARE involved in membrane fusion. To better understand the interaction mechanism, we aimed at identifying the interaction motifs in SYP121 and PIP2;7 using ratiometric bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays in Nicotiana benthamiana. SYP121 consists of four regions, N, H, Q, and C, and sequential deletions revealed that the C region, containing the transmembrane domain, as well as the H and Q regions, containing the Habc and Qa-SNARE functional domains, interact with PIP2;7. Neither the linker between the Habc and the Qa-SNARE domains nor the H or Q regions alone could fully restore the interaction with PIP2;7, suggesting that the interacting motif depends on the conformation taken by the HQ region. When investigating the interacting motif(s) in PIP2;7, we observed that deletion of the cytosolic N- and/or C- terminus led to a significant decrease in the interaction with SYP121. Shorter deletions revealed that at the N-terminal amino acid residues 18–26 were involved in the interaction. Domain swapping experiments between PIP2;7 and PIP2;6, a PIP isoform that does not interact with SYP121, showed that PIP2;7 N-terminal part up to the loop C was required to restore the full interaction signal, suggesting that, as it is the case for SYP121, the interaction motif(s) in PIP2;7 depend on the protein conformation. Finally, we also showed that PIP2;7 physically interacted with other Arabidopsis SYP1s and SYP121 orthologs.
Introduction
Plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs) are aquaporins facilitating the diffusion of water and other small solutes across the plasma membrane. They are involved in a diversity of plant physiological processes including cell expansion and water homeostasis, regulation of root and leaf hydraulic conductivity as well as in photosynthesis (). Aquaporins consist of six transmembrane domains (TM) linked by five loops, the N- and C-termini facing the cytosol. As membrane integral proteins, they are synthesized and co-translationally inserted in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane and travel across the secretory pathway to reach their target membrane.
Recent studies have highlighted the role of SNAREs (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors) in the subcellular trafficking and regulation of the PIP aquaporins (; ). SNAREs are membrane proteins mainly involved in the addressing and fusion of vesicles with their target membranes. Each compartment having their own resident SNAREs, recognition between SNAREs located on the vesicles and those located on the membranes, together with tethering factors and other regulatory proteins drives correct vesicle addressing and fusion to the target membrane. About 65 members of the SNARE family have been identified in Arabidopsis, two times more than in unicellular or mammalian organisms, suggesting an important role of these proteins in a complex endomembrane system including distinct secretory and vacuolar trafficking events (; ). They were classified on the basis of the SNARE domain structure: the R-SNAREs have an arginine residue (R) in the center of the SNARE domain, while Q-SNAREs have a glutamine residue (Q) (). SNAREs drive vesicle fusion and membrane intercalation by assembling in ternary complexes of cognate partner Qa-, Qb-, Qc-, and R-SNAREs (). The Qa-SNAREs possess a long N-terminal region containing a Habc domain made of three short helices Ha, Hb, Hc that mimic the structure of the SNARE (). Among them, the Syntaxin of Plant (SYP) 1s are Qa-SNARE localized at the plasma membrane (; ). SYP121, one of the nine SYP1s found in Arabidopsis, is involved in the fusion of vesicles with the plasma membrane, together with its cognate SNARE Synaptosome-Associated Protein (SNAP) 33, a Qb+Qc-SNARE, and the R-SNAREs Vesicle-Associated Membrane Protein (VAMP) 721 and 722 (; ; ). It has the typical structure of Qa-SNAREs with, in front of the Habc, a 39-residue N-terminal region (; ; ; ). SYP121 is expressed more abundantly in the epidermal cells and lateral root cap cells of the root tip, this signal decreasing with root growth. However, it is expressed in all tissues, albeit at lower levels ().
In Zea mays and Arabidopsis thaliana, SYP121 isoforms regulate the proper trafficking of ZmPIP2;5 and AtPIP2;7 through physical interactions. The expression of SYP121ΔC (previously name Sp2 fragment), a truncated version that does not contain the C-terminal TM and behaves as a dominant negative mutated protein, reduces the accumulation of AtPIP2;7 and ZmPIP2;5 in the plasma membrane (; ). This effect is specific for SYP121 as the expression of the ΔC deletions of the plasma membrane-localized SYP122 and the Qc-SNARE SYP71 as well as the prevacuolar compartment Qa-SNARE AtSYP21 does not alter ZmPIP2;5 trafficking (). Consequently, the membrane osmotic water permeability coefficient (Pf) of protoplasts co-expressing SYP121ΔC with the PIPs is reduced compared with the Pf of protoplasts expressing the PIPs alone (; ). The expression of ZmSYP121ΔC also reduces the Pf of Xenopus oocytes co-expressing ZmPIP2;5 compared with the oocytes expressing ZmPIP2;5 alone, but not ZmPIP2;5 plasma membrane abundance, suggesting that SYP121 regulates not only PIPs trafficking but also their gating (; ). The results collected on these distant plant species suggest that this interaction predates the divergence between monocots and dicots about 200 million years ago.
In addition to the regulation of PIP aquaporins, SYP121 also physically interacts with K+ channels to regulate their trafficking to the plasma membrane (), and the KC1/AKT1 heterotetramer activity. Indeed, when SYP121 is co-expressed with AKT1/KC1 in oocytes, the negative shift of the voltage threshold is reduced, therefore promoting the opening of the channel (; ). This interaction is mediated by an FxRF motif located within the first 12 N-terminal residues of SYP121 (). KC1 also binds to SYP121 through a conserved RYxxWE motif located at the cytosolic face of the voltage sensing domain (). The same motif is involved in the interaction between KAT1 and SYP121, leading to the same impact on the activation of KAT1 (). Conversely to the role of the complex in K+ uptake, akt1, kc1, and syp121 mutated lines share the same impaired growth phenotype in rate-limiting concentrations of K+ (). Moreover, the tobacco homolog of SYP121, NtSYR1, is involved in the K+, Cl–, and Ca++ channel activity in guard cells of the stomatal complexes. Over-expression of the SYP121ΔC fragment blocks the response of the channels to abscisic acid and therefore the response of plants to a lack of water (; ).
Altogether these results led to consider SYP121 as a “super-coordinator” of plant cellular homeostasis and cell expansion (; ; ). These processes depend on the turgor pressure resulting from the uptake and accumulation of inorganic ions and water. SYP121, by controlling aquaporin and K+ channel abundance and/or activity in the plasma membrane, might act as a coordinator of ion and water uptake to regulate cell expansion or swelling, through the possible formation of a PIP/SYP121/K+ channel tripartite. To better understand this regulation mechanisms, identification of the interaction motifs between PIPs and SYP121 was a first step to further modify/disrupt the SYP121/PIP complex association and analyze the physiological consequences in planta. To this aim, we tested series of deletions and mutations in SYP121 and PIP2;7 using ratiometric bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays in Nicotiana benthamiana, and showed that the interaction between both proteins involved several domains suggesting the importance of the protein conformation in this interaction.
Materials and Methods
Molecular Cloning
Cloning was carried out using the Gateway technology (Thermo Fisher). Briefly, the full-length cDNAs were amplified by PCR with a couple of primers (Supplementary Table 1) harboring either the attB1, attB2, attB3, or attB4 sequence, from either total cDNA (extracted from 7-d-old seedlings) or vectors already available in the lab. After purification, the PCR products were inserted into a donor vector through BP cloning thanks the BP clonase II enzyme kit. The resulting entry vectors were verified by restrictions and sequencing. Transfer of the Gateway cassette from the entry vectors to the destination vector was performed through LR clonase II mediated recombination. Both BP and LR cloning were done according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. The resulting expression plasmids were verified by restriction and, in some cases, by PCR or sequencing.
The pBiFCt-2in1 vectors () were used to carry out rBiFC assays. The cDNAs were subcloned in pDONR221-P3P2 or pDONR221-P1P4 entry vectors prior to their integration in the pBiFCt-2in1 vectors following the authors’ recommendations. The 2in1-BiFCt-NN vector was mostly used for the production of proteins fused at their N-terminal end to the split Enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP) fragments. The cDNAs inserted in the pDONR221-P3P2 were translated in fusion with the nEYFP, while the cDNAs inserted in the pDONR221-P1P4 were translated in fusion with the cEYFP. The PIP cDNAs were inserted in the vector pDONR221-P1P4, while the SNARE cDNAs were inserted in the vector pDONR221-P3P2. Therefore, in the final pBiFCt-2in1 vector, the PIP cDNAs were fused to the sequence encoding the cEYFP fragment while the SNARE cDNAs were fused to the sequence encoding the nEYFP fragment. The pFRETtv-2in1-NN vector () was used to determine the subcellular localization of the proteins. The same protocol as for the pBiFCt-2in1 vectors was followed for the plasmid generation.
Plant Growth
N. benthamiana seeds were germinated and the plants grown in a phytotron [8 h dark/16 h light regime at 25°C (day)/18°C (night) temperature with a light intensity of approximately 200 μmol photon m–2 s–2].
Agrobacterium Infiltration
The plasmids were transiently expressed in N. benthamiana leaves through agro-infiltration with the Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain AGL1 () according to . Electrocompetent AGL1 cells were transformed using 500 ng of the DNA minipreparation.
For the infiltration, colonies were incubated with agitation overnight at 28°C in 5 ml LB containing the appropriate antibiotic. The cells were pelleted by centrifugation at 5,000 g for 5 min at Room Temperature (RT), washed twice with 2 mL of the infiltration buffer [50 mM MES, 2 mM Na3PO4, 0.5% (w/v) glucose, pH 5.6] and resuspended in 2 mL of the same buffer supplemented with 100 mM acetosyringone. The bacterial suspension was then incubated for 2 h at RT in the dark to activate the virulence. The inoculum was delivered to N. benthamiana leaves by gentle pressure infiltration through the stomata of the abaxial side, using a 1 mL syringe without a needle. Samples were analyzed 3-day post-infiltration to allow sufficient time for protein production.
Confocal Microscopy
Plant materials were imaged according to standard procedures on a Zeiss LSM710 confocal microscope equipped with a spectral detector. The confocal setting used for the rBiFC experiments were adapted from the one used in according to the modules installed on the LSM710. The acquisitions of the rBiFC data were performed with two different microscope settings. The excitation wavelength (laser intensity)/emission bandwidth/dichroic filter/master gain settings were the following: first settings, Yellow fluorescent protein (YFP), 514 nm (10%)/BP 522–553/MBS [458/514]/797; Red fluorescent protein (RFP), 561 nm (5%)/BP 559–615/MBS [488/561/633]/795; second settings, YFP, 514 nm (10%)/BP 522–553/MBS [458/514/561/633]/795; RFP, 561 nm (7%)/BP 559–615/MBS [458/514/561/633]/780.
Ratiometric BiFC Assays
The BiFC assay developed by allows a ratiometric quantification of the interaction by comparing the fluorescence intensity level of an internal control (RFP), and the reconstituted YFP signal. As all the cDNAs were inserted in the same vector and their expression driven by the same p35S promoter, a theoretically equal production rate is obtained for the comparison of the fluorescence. The fluorescence of each cell was quantified using three different 4 μm lines along the plasma membrane. The YFP/RFP ratio of each line was calculated based on the maximum intensities of both RFP and YFP signals along the lines. The mean of the three ratios was used for statistical analysis. At least 10 cells were analyzed per pairs in at least two repetitions. The positive (SYP121/PIP2;7) and negative (SNAP33/PIP2;7) controls were infiltrated in each experiment. For statistical analysis, we considered not only the ratios obtained for each pair but also the impact of the repetitions. All the experiments done using the same setting were pulled together and the results compared with the respective positive and negative controls to evaluate the effect of the interacting pair on the YFP/RFP ratio. Therefore, a linear mixed model, with a random intercept taking the repetition’s dependency into account was fitted using SAS software (). Based on the model estimates, mean comparisons were proceeded using Dunnett’s test. Graphs were created using the R software () and the ggplot2 package ().
Results
Different Parts of SYP121 Are Required for Its Interaction With PIP2;7
Syntaxin proteins can be dissected in four regions: N, H, Q, and C (Figure 1A). The N region (N-terminus) contains the FxRF motif required for SYP121 interaction with KC1 (), the H region contains the regulatory domain Habc, the Q region contains the Q-SNARE motif, and the C region (C-terminus) contains a TM domain (Figure 1A). Several genetic constructs encoding deletions starting from either the C- or the N-terminus of SYP121 were prepared to identify the region required for the interaction with PIP2;7, using rBiFC assays. In all the rBiFC experiments included in this work, the proteins were expressed fused at the N-terminus with the n or cEYFP fragments because it is the only extremity facing the cytosol for the SNAREs and this fusion configuration does not to interfere with the trafficking and function of PIP2;7 or of the other PIPs (; , ; ). In addition, the SYP121/PIP2;7 and SNAP33/PIP2;7 pairs were used as positive and negative controls, respectively (). SNAP33 is a Qb+ Qc-SNARE belonging to the SNARE complex of SYP121 (). The resulting fluorescent signals were systematically quantified for comparison (see “Materials and Methods”). In the statistical analysis, both controls were always different with a p-value < 0.0001.
FIGURE 1
We first investigated whether the FxRF motif, which is involved in the interaction with KC1, also interacted with PIP2;7. To this end, we tested the F9A substitution (
To verify that the absence of a fluorescent signal for SYP121ΔQC/PIP2;7 was not due to a problem of protein expression, we expressed all the SNARE versions tested in Figure 1 in fusion with the monomeric mTRQ2. As the proteins were expressed in similar conditions and under the control of the same promoter than in the BiFC experiments, the presence of a fluorescent signal could reflect the expression of the proteins in the rBiFC assays, A signal was observed for all the SYP121 deletions including the mTRQ2-SYP121ΔQC (Supplementary Figure 2A), suggesting the absence of interaction in rBiFC assays cannot be due to a lack of expression of the proteins.
We then tested the interaction between PIP2;7 and SYP121-HQ or either the H or the Q region alone (Figure 2). A positive interaction was observed for SYP121-HQ/PIP2;7 pair but not for SYP121-H/PIP2;7 or SYP121-Q/PIP2;7 pairs (Figure 2), suggesting a role of the H and Q overlapping region. We investigated the linker region between the Habc and Qa-SNARE domain, which includes the amino acid residues 171–200. Four constructs encoding SYP121-[143–222], SYP121-[171–200], SYP121-[143–200], and SYP121-[171–222] were then designed. Whereas no interaction with PIP2;7 was observed for SYP121-[171–200] and SYP121-[143–200], a low but significantly different fluorescence ratio was observed for SYP121-[143–222] and SYP121-[171–222] compared with negative control (Figure 2).
FIGURE 2

rBiFC assays for the interaction between nEYFP-SYP121 deletions at the HQ region and cEYFP-PIP2;7. On the left: nEYFP-SYP121 fusion topology. The size of the deletions is not representative. Center panel: representative rBiFC images. Images on the left show the YFP signal resulting from protein interaction, while those on the right show the control RFP. The scale bar represents 10 μm. On the right: ratiometric quantification of the fluorescent signals. Between 10 and 40 cells for each protein pair were analyzed as described in Figure 1.
Altogether, the SYP121 deletions allowed us to show that (i) the FxRF motif, which interacts with KC1, was not involved in PIP2,7 interaction and (ii) two parts of SYP121 including the amino acid residues 171–222 of the HQ region and the C-terminus were involved in this interaction.
PIP2;7 N- and C-Termini Are Required for PIP2;7/SYP121 Interaction
Aquaporins are composed of six TMs connected by five loops, both the N- and C-termini being located in the cytosol. To identify the PIP2;7 motif that interacts with SYP121, we first analyzed the interaction between SYP121 and different truncated versions of PIP2;7 (Figure 3). Deletion of the N- or C-terminus resulted in the loss of interaction with SYP121, suggesting that both extremities are involved in the interaction. The interaction of PIP2;7ΔNt and PIP2;7ΔCt with SYP121ΔC, a soluble version of SYP121, was also tested to be sure that a possible modification in the subcellular localization of the deleted PIP2;7 versions or SYP121 was not the reason why the proteins did not interact. No interaction was observed between PIP2;7ΔNt and PIP2;7ΔCt with SYP121ΔC (Supplementary Figure 3). These proteins fused to mVenus were well expressed and localized in the plasma membrane and intracellular structures probably corresponding to the ER and Golgi apparatus (Supplementary Figure 2A).
FIGURE 3

rBiFC assays for the interaction between cEYFP-PIP2;7 deletions and nEYFP-SYP121. On the left: cEYFP-PIP2;7 fusion topology. PIP2;7ΔNt is deleted from the first 35 amino acids, up to the beginning of the TM1. PIP2;7ΔCt is deleted from the last 18 amino acids starting at the end of the TM6. PIP2;7ΔNCt combines both deletions. The beginning and end of the TM1 and TM6 were selected by multiple alignments of plant PIP2 sequences. The negative control is SNAP33. Center panel: representative rBiFC images. Images on the left show the YFP signal resulting from protein interaction, while those on the right show the control RFP signal. The scale bar represents 10 μm. On the right: ratiometric quantification of the fluorescent signals. Twenty cells for each protein pair were analyzed as described in Figure 1.
We then tested shorter regions of both the N- and C-termini. For the N-terminus, the first 13, 17, 21, and 26 amino acid residues were sequentially removed. A YFP signal was observed for the SYP121/PIP2;7Δ1–13 and SYP121/PIP2;7Δ1–17 pairs, while a weak or no signal was detected for the SYP121/PIP2;7Δ1–21 and SYP121/PIP2;7Δ1–26 pairs, respectively (Figure 4). We verified that mVenus-PIP2;7Δ1–21 was well expressed and the fluorescent signal was found in the plasma membrane and internal structures (Supplementary Figure 2A). The fluorescent YFP/RFP ratios of SYP121/PIP2;7Δ1–21 pair was different from both controls while SYP121/PIP2;7Δ1–26 was not different from the negative control (Figure 4). Deletions of the last 6, 10, and 14 amino acid residues of the PIP2;7 C-terminus were also tested for their interaction with SYP121 (Figure 5). A weak YFP signal was detected for all of them, the fluorescence ratios of the pairs being different from SYP121/PIP2;7. Both SYP121/PIP2;7–266Δ and SYP121/PIP2;7–274Δ but not SYP121/PIP2;7–270Δ ratios were different from the negative control (Figure 5). Altogether, these data indicate that the N-terminal amino acid residues 18–26 were required for the interaction with SYP121 and that the whole C-terminus play a role in the interaction, possibly by influencing the proper conformation of the N-terminus rather than containing a motif itself.
FIGURE 4

rBiFC assays for the interaction between cEYFP-PIP2;7 N-terminus deletions and nEYFP-SYP121. On the left: representative rBiFC images. Images on the left show the YFP signal resulting from protein interaction, while those on the right show the control RFP signal. The scale bar represents 10 μm. On the right: ratiometric quantification of the fluorescent signals. Between 27 and 34 cells for each protein pair were analyzed as described in Figure 1. The negative control is nEYFP-SNAP33/cEYFP-PIP2;7.
FIGURE 5

rBiFC assays for the interaction between cEYFP-PIP2;7 C-terminus deletions and nEYFP-SYP121. On the left: representative rBiFC images. Images on the left show the YFP signal resulting from protein interaction, while those on the right show the control RFP signal. The scale bar represents 10 μm. On the right: ratiometric quantification of the fluorescent signals. Between 10 and 19 cells for each protein pair were analyzed as described in Figure 1. The negative control is nEYFP-SNAP33/cEYFP-PIP2;7.
To locate more accurately the PIP2;7 interaction motif, we wanted to perform swapping experiments between PIP2;7 and another PIP2 that did not interact with SYP121. To identify such a PIP2, we screened the members of the Arabidopsis PIP2 subfamily, as well as PIP1;4 (Supplementary Figure 4). The only PIP protein that did not give rise to a fluorescent signal when co-expressed with SYP121 was PIP2;6. Quantification of the YFP/RFP fluorescence ratios showed that all the PIP/SYP121 pairs produced a significantly different ratio from the negative control (albeit with different p-values), with the exception of SYP121/PIP2;6. To verify that PIP2;6 was well expressed, we cloned PIP2;6 cDNA in the pFRETtv-2in1 vectors and detected the expression of mVenus-PIP2;6 in transient expression in N. benthamiana (Supplementary Figure 2B).
Using this non-interacting PIP, we performed swapping experiments, starting from the whole N- and/or C-termini and generated pBiFCt-2in1 plasmids containing SYP121 and the following chimeras: Nt2;6][PIP2;7, PIP2;7][Ct2;6, Nt2;7][PIP2;6, PIP2;6][Ct2;7, and Nt2;7][PIP2;6][Ct2;7 (Figure 6). Quite a large variation in the fluorescence intensity was obtained in the different rBiFC repetitions for the swapped constructs/SYP121 pairs, which was confirmed by the quantification of fluorescence ratios. All pairs gave significantly different ratios compared with the ratio of either the positive or the negative controls, with the exception of SYP121/Nt2;7][PIP2;6][Ct2;7 ratio, which was not different from the negative control ratio (Figure 6). The chimera giving the highest fluorescent signals compared to the other chimeras was PIP2;7][Ct2;6, suggesting that the (i) PIP2;7 N-terminus was required for the interaction with SYP121 and (ii) the C-terminus of PIP2;7 was not absolutely necessary or that the C-terminus of PIP2;6 could partly replace the PIP2;7 C-terminus. On the other hand, the absence of interaction between SYP121 and Nt2;7][PIP2;6][Ct2;7 was unexpected, but indicated that the N- and C-termini of PIP2;7 were not enough to restore an interaction of PIP2;6 with SYP121 and that other PIP2;7 domain(s) were required. This could explain why the SYP121/Nt2;6][PIP2;7, SYP121/Nt2;7][PIP2;6, and SYP121/PIP2;6][Ct2;7 pairs generated low ratios, although slightly different from the negative control.
FIGURE 6

rBiFC assays for the interaction cEYFP-PIP2;7][PIP2;6 N- and C-terminus swapped proteins and nEYFP-SYP121. On the left: cEYFP-PIP fusion topology. PIP2;7 and PIP2;6 sequences are represented in dark and light gray, respectively. The beginning and end of the TMs and loops were selected by multiple alignments of plant PIP2 sequences. The negative control is SNAP33. Center panel: representative rBiFC images. Images on the left show the YFP signal resulting from protein interaction, while those on the right show the control RFP signal. The scale bar represents 10 μm. On the right: ratiometric quantification of the fluorescent signals. Between 70 and 120 cells for each protein pair were analyzed as described in Figure 1. The negative control is nEYFP-SNAP33/cEYFP-PIP2;7.
As we showed that the swapping of both PIP2;7 N- and C-termini in PIP2;6 was not sufficient for an interaction with SYP121, we generated chimeras including the TMs and loops. We generated pBiFCt-2in1 plasmids containing SYP121 together with PIP2;7-D][TM5-PIP2;6, PIP2;7-C][TM4-PIP2;6, PIP2;7-TM3][C-PIP2;6, and PIP2;7-B][TM3-PIP2;6, D, C, and B indicating that the PIP2;7 fragments in these fusion ended after the loop D, C, or B, respectively (Figure 7). Analysis of the fluorescent ratios showed that, while all of them were different from the negative control, only SYP121/PIP2;7-D][TM5-PIP2;6 and SYP121/PIP2;7-C][TM4-PIP2;6 ratios were not significantly different from the positive control (Figure 7). The lower fluorescence ratio obtained for PIP2;7-TM3][C-PIP2;6 and PIP2;7-B][TM3-PIP2;6 suggested that the PIP2;7 loop C was playing a role in the interaction.
FIGURE 7

rBiFC assays for the interaction between cEYFP-PIP2;7][PIP2;6 loop and TM swapped proteins and nEYFP-SYP121. On the left: cEYFP-PIP fusion topology. PIP2;7 and PIP2;6 sequences are represented in dark and light gray, respectively. The beginning and end of the TMs and loops were selected by multiple alignments of plant PIP2 sequences. Center panel: representative rBiFC images. Images on the left show the YFP signal resulting from protein interaction while those on the right show the control RFP signal. The scale bar represents 10 μm. On the right: ratiometric quantification of the fluorescent signals. Between 20 and 50 cells for each protein pair were analyzed as described in Figure 1. The negative control is nEYFP-SNAP33/cEYFP-PIP2;7.
SYP1s, Except SYP112, and SYP121 Orthologs Interact With PIP2;7
In order to have a more complete picture of the syntaxins that interact with PIP2;7, we screened the interaction of the latter with the other members of the Arabidopsis SYP1 subfamily, which are the closest homologs of SYP121 (
FIGURE 8

rBiFC assays for the interaction between nEYFP-SNAREs and cEYFP-PIP2;7 pairs. (A) rBiFC assays for the interaction between nEYFP-SYP1s and cEYFP-PIP2;7. On the left: representative rBiFC images. Images on the left show the YFP signal resulting from protein interaction, while those on the right show the control RFP signal. The scale bar represents 10 μm. On the right: ratiometric quantification of the fluorescent signals. Between 19 and 22 cells for each protein pair were analyzed by pair as described in Figure 1. (B) rBiFC assays for the interaction between nEYFP-SYP1s and cEYFP-PIP2;7. On the left: representative rBiFC images. Images on the left show the YFP signal resulting from protein interaction, while those on the right show the control RFP signal assessing the expression level after leaf infiltration. The scale bar represents 10 μm. On the right: ratiometric quantification of the fluorescent signals. Between 30 and 49 cells for each protein pair were analyzed by pair as described in Figure 1.
We also analyzed the putative interaction between PIP2;7 and (i) SYP121 orthologs to verify whether the PIP2–SYP121 interaction is conserved through evolution, and (ii) SNAREs localized in other compartments than the plasma membrane, but transiting to the secretory pathway as PIP2;7. Maize and tobacco SYP121 share, respectively, 60% and 72% sequence identity with AtSYP121. NtSYP121 was selected to test its interaction with PIP2;7 as the work done on SYP121 and K+ channels originates from the characterization of NtSYP121 and its impact on K+ and Cl– channels in stomatal guard cells (
FIGURE 9

rBiFC assays for the interaction between nEYFP-SYP121 orthologs or nEYFP-SNAREs and cEYFP-PIP2;7. On the left: representative rBiFC images. The left images show the YFP signal resulting from protein interaction, while those on the right show the control RFP signal. The scale bar represents 10 μm. On the right: ratiometric quantification of the fluorescent signals. Between 10 and 40 cells for each protein pair were analyzed by pair as described in Figure 1.
Discussion
SYP121 physically interacts with PIP aquaporins to regulate their trafficking and activity (
SYP121 Motifs
We first demonstrated that the FxRF motif involved in the interaction with KC1 was not required for SYP121/PIP2;7 (Figure 1), making the initial hypothesis of a PIP/SYP121/K+ channel tripartite still valid, as different motifs in SYP121 are required for its interaction with both PIP2;7 and KC1. It is well known that proteins can carry several interaction motifs, allowing interactions with distinct proteins at the same time to form complexes but also to compete if a motif is shared (
Analysis of SYP121 deletions showed that the HQ and C regions were both interacting with PIP2;7 (Figure 1). Indeed, the C-terminus was sufficient to detect an interaction, while shortening the protein from the C- and N-terminal ends indicated that SYP121-HQ, but not SYP121ΔQC, SYP121-H, and SYP121-Q were still able to interact with PIP2;7 (Figure 2). In addition, the region between the H and Q domains and more precisely the amino acid residues 171–222, were involved in the interaction. We therefore propose the presence of two separate interaction motifs in SYP121, as previously reported in Sed5, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae SNARE, for its interaction with Sec23/24 (
The interaction observed for the pair SYP121ΔNHQ/PIP2;7 (Figure 1) might be surprising as the deletion only contains a TM as well as a ∼40 residue long extracellular C-terminus. Such interaction was also observed in rBiFC assays between SYP121ΔNHQ and SNAP33 using similar conditions (
Regarding the interaction motif in the HQ region, neither the H nor the Q region interacted alone with PIP2;7 while the residues [171–222], including the linker as well the N-terminus of the Qa-SNARE domain, led to a weak interaction (Figure 2). This suggested that other parts of the HQ region were required for the interaction and that the motif could be dependent on the conformation taken by SYP121. Indeed, Qa-SNAREs switch from a closed conformation, in which the three helixes of the Habc domain fold back on the SNARE domain, bringing in close proximity the H and Q regions and preventing the SNARE complex formation, to an open conformation, in which the Qa-SNARE domain is free to interact with other SNAREs for membrane fusion (
In a recent paper reporting the interaction between NIP1;1 and SYP51,
PIP2;7 Motifs
Deletion for both the N- and/or C-termini of PIP2;7 abolished the interaction with SYP121, suggesting that both termini are required (Figure 3). These PIP2;7 deleted forms were still partly localized in the plasma membrane (Supplementary Figure 2B). Using shorter N-terminus deletions, we identified the amino acid residues located between Y17 and D27 as necessary for the interaction (Figure 4). On the other hand, all the shorter deletions in the C-terminus led to weaker interaction signals but none of them totally abolished them (Figure 5). Therefore, the C-terminus might be important for the proper folding of the N-terminus rather than being directly involved in the interaction with SYP121. Indeed, looking at the structure of SoPIP2;1 (
The swapping experiments between PIP2;7 and PIP2;6, a PIP isoform that does not interact with SYP121, indicated that, in addition to the role of PIP2;7 N-terminus in the interaction, the latter was not sufficient and required also a N-terminal region up to the loop C to fully restore the interaction signal. However, it would be necessary to confirm that the PIP2;7][PIP2;6 complementary swappings of the loops and TMs (PIP2;6-B][TM3-PIP2;7, PIP2;6-TM3][C-PIP2;7, PIP2;6-C][TM4-PIP2;7, and PIP2;6-D][TM5-PIP2;7) do not interact. Altogether, the data from both the swapping and deletions experiments indicate that the interaction between PIP2;7 and SYP121 requires a region located between the residue 18 and the loop C of PIP2;7, with a crucial role of the residues 18–26, and also a contribution of the C-terminus. This could be confirmed by the complementary set of PIP2;6][PIP2;7 TM and loop swapped isoforms. Similar to SYP121-HQ, a conformational motif depending on the complex array of interaction between the N-and C-termini and the N-terminal loops could be essential for the interaction with SYP121, explaining why removing either the N- or C-terminus impaired the interaction. On the other hand, it is not clear why the extracellular loop C was required. It could interact with the C-terminus of SYP121 or be involved in maintaining the proper protein conformation for the interaction.
SYP Interaction With PIP2;7
All the Arabidopsis SYP1s except SYP112 interact with PIP2;7 (Figure 8 and Supplementary Figure 5). Comparison of the expression pattern of each of them (
In
Other plasma membrane localized SNAREs were tested for their interactions with PIP2;7 (Figure 9). The other members of the SYP121 cognate SNARE complex, VAMP721/722 and SNAP33, did not interact with PIP2;7 in rBiFC assays. The absence of interaction between SNAP33 and PIP2;7 was used as a negative control throughout this study. In that case, SNAP33 and VAMP721 were already expressed in other studies using the same pBiFCt-2in1 vectors and we can thus rule out the absence of expression to explain the absence of interaction (
Physiological Meaning of PIP/SYP121 Interaction
Most PIPs interact with SYP121, indicating a conserved mechanism of PIP regulation by SYP121 (Supplementary Figure 4;
Arabidopsis PIPs are also permeable to other solutes than water such as H2O2 (
Statements
Data availability statement
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
Author contributions
TL, CH, and FC designed the experiments. TL, IM, and SB performed the experiments. TL, IM, CH, and FC analyzed the data. TL and FC wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Funding
This work was supported by the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS), the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme-Belgian Science Policy (grant IAP7/29), and the “Communauté Française de Belgique-Actions de Recherches Concertées” (grant ARC16/21-075). TL was a research fellow at the Fonds de Formation à la Recherche dans l’Industrie et l’Agriculture (grant FC89742).
Acknowledgments
We thank Dr. C. Grefen (Ruhr-University Bochum) for the pDONOR221 P3P2 SYP121-F9A plasmid and regular discussion and advices, and Marie-Christine Eloy (IMABIOL imaging platform-UCLouvain) for the confocal expertise.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Supplementary material
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.631643/full#supplementary-material
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Summary
Keywords
aquaporin, syntaxin, interaction motif, SNAREs, plasma membrane intrinsic protein, ratiometric bimolecular fluorescence complementation
Citation
Laloux T, Matyjaszczyk I, Beaudelot S, Hachez C and Chaumont F (2021) Interaction Between the SNARE SYP121 and the Plasma Membrane Aquaporin PIP2;7 Involves Different Protein Domains. Front. Plant Sci. 11:631643. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.631643
Received
20 November 2020
Accepted
29 December 2020
Published
18 January 2021
Volume
11 - 2020
Edited by
Csaba Mathe, University of Debrecen, Hungary
Reviewed by
Gian Pietro Di Sansebastiano, University of Salento, Italy; Jinxing Lin, Beijing Forestry University, China
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© 2021 Laloux, Matyjaszczyk, Beaudelot, Hachez and Chaumont.
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*Correspondence: François Chaumont, francois.chaumont@uclouvain.be
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