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Requirements for the mitochondrial import and localization of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase

Rawls, J ; Knecht, W LU ; Diekert, K ; Lill, R and Löffler, Monika (2000) In European Journal of Biochemistry 267(7). p.2079-2087
Abstract

In animals, dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is a mitochondrial protein that carries out the fourth step in de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. Because this is the only enzyme of this pathway that is localized to mitochondria and because the enzyme is cytosolic in some bacteria and fungi, we carried out studies to understand the mode of targeting of animal DHODH and its submitochondrial localization. Analysis of fractionated rat liver mitochondria revealed that DHODH is an integral membrane protein exposed to the intermembrane space. In vitro-synthesized Drosophila, rat and human DHODH proteins were efficiently imported into the intermembrane space of isolated yeast mitochondria. Import did not alter the size of the in vitro... (More)

In animals, dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is a mitochondrial protein that carries out the fourth step in de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. Because this is the only enzyme of this pathway that is localized to mitochondria and because the enzyme is cytosolic in some bacteria and fungi, we carried out studies to understand the mode of targeting of animal DHODH and its submitochondrial localization. Analysis of fractionated rat liver mitochondria revealed that DHODH is an integral membrane protein exposed to the intermembrane space. In vitro-synthesized Drosophila, rat and human DHODH proteins were efficiently imported into the intermembrane space of isolated yeast mitochondria. Import did not alter the size of the in vitro synthesized protein, nor was there a detectable size difference when compared to the DHODH protein found in vivo. Thus, there is no apparent proteolytic processing of the protein during import either in vitro or in vivo. Import of rat DHODH into isolated yeast mitochondria required inner membrane potential and was at least partially dependent upon matrix ATP, indicating that its localization uses the well described import machinery of the mitochondrial inner membrane. The DHODH proteins of animals differ from the cytosolic proteins found in some bacteria and fungi by the presence of an N-terminal segment that resembles mitochondrial-targeting presequences. Deletion of the cationic portion of this N-terminal sequence from the rat DHODH protein blocked its import into isolated yeast mitochondria, whereas deletion of the adjacent hydrophobic segment resulted in import of the protein into the matrix. Thus, the N-terminus of the DHODH protein contains a bipartite signal that governs import and correct insertion into the mitochondrial inner membrane.

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author
; ; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Base Sequence, Biological Transport, DNA Primers, Humans, Hydrolysis, Membrane Proteins/chemistry, Mitochondria/enzymology, Molecular Sequence Data, Oxidoreductases/chemistry, Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors, Saccharomyces cerevisiae/enzymology
in
European Journal of Biochemistry
volume
267
issue
7
pages
2079 - 2087
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:0034070355
  • pmid:10727948
ISSN
0014-2956
DOI
10.1046/j.1432-1327.2000.01213.x
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
d161dc79-0f76-4069-895e-d68143f199fd
date added to LUP
2020-07-22 14:32:23
date last changed
2024-01-17 10:08:43
@article{d161dc79-0f76-4069-895e-d68143f199fd,
  abstract     = {{<p>In animals, dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is a mitochondrial protein that carries out the fourth step in de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. Because this is the only enzyme of this pathway that is localized to mitochondria and because the enzyme is cytosolic in some bacteria and fungi, we carried out studies to understand the mode of targeting of animal DHODH and its submitochondrial localization. Analysis of fractionated rat liver mitochondria revealed that DHODH is an integral membrane protein exposed to the intermembrane space. In vitro-synthesized Drosophila, rat and human DHODH proteins were efficiently imported into the intermembrane space of isolated yeast mitochondria. Import did not alter the size of the in vitro synthesized protein, nor was there a detectable size difference when compared to the DHODH protein found in vivo. Thus, there is no apparent proteolytic processing of the protein during import either in vitro or in vivo. Import of rat DHODH into isolated yeast mitochondria required inner membrane potential and was at least partially dependent upon matrix ATP, indicating that its localization uses the well described import machinery of the mitochondrial inner membrane. The DHODH proteins of animals differ from the cytosolic proteins found in some bacteria and fungi by the presence of an N-terminal segment that resembles mitochondrial-targeting presequences. Deletion of the cationic portion of this N-terminal sequence from the rat DHODH protein blocked its import into isolated yeast mitochondria, whereas deletion of the adjacent hydrophobic segment resulted in import of the protein into the matrix. Thus, the N-terminus of the DHODH protein contains a bipartite signal that governs import and correct insertion into the mitochondrial inner membrane.</p>}},
  author       = {{Rawls, J and Knecht, W and Diekert, K and Lill, R and Löffler, Monika}},
  issn         = {{0014-2956}},
  keywords     = {{Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Biological Transport; DNA Primers; Humans; Hydrolysis; Membrane Proteins/chemistry; Mitochondria/enzymology; Molecular Sequence Data; Oxidoreductases/chemistry; Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors; Saccharomyces cerevisiae/enzymology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7}},
  pages        = {{2079--2087}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{European Journal of Biochemistry}},
  title        = {{Requirements for the mitochondrial import and localization of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1432-1327.2000.01213.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1046/j.1432-1327.2000.01213.x}},
  volume       = {{267}},
  year         = {{2000}},
}