Skip to main content
The EMBO Journal logoLink to The EMBO Journal
. 1987 Aug;6(8):2433–2439. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02522.x

Transport of proteins to the mitochondrial intermembrane space: the 'matrix-targeting' and the 'sorting' domains in the cytochrome c1 presequence.

A P van Loon 1, A W Brändli 1, B Pesold-Hurt 1, D Blank 1, G Schatz 1
PMCID: PMC553650  PMID: 2822392

Abstract

We reported earlier that the yeast cytochrome c1 presequence (length: 61 amino acids) directs attached proteins to the mitochondrial intermembrane space and that it appears to contain two functional domains: a 'matrix-targeting' domain, and a 'sorting' domain. We have now used gene manipulation together with two different in vivo import assays to map these two domains within the cytochrome c1 presequence. The 'matrix-targeting' domain is contained within the N-terminal 16 residues (or less); by itself, it directs attached proteins to the matrix. The 'sorting' domain extends into the C-terminal 13 residues of the presequence; while it does not mediate intracellular protein transport by itself, it acts together with the preceding 'matrix-targeting' sequence in sorting attached proteins into the intermembrane space. On replacing the authentic 'matrix-targeting' sequence with artificial sequences of different lengths we found that sorting of proteins between the outer membrane and the intermembrane space is not exclusively determined by the length of the N-terminal 'matrix-targeting' sequence.

Full text

PDF
2435

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Allison D. S., Schatz G. Artificial mitochondrial presequences. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Dec;83(23):9011–9015. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.23.9011. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bolivar F., Backman K. Plasmids of Escherichia coli as cloning vectors. Methods Enzymol. 1979;68:245–267. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(79)68018-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Boyer H. W., Roulland-Dussoix D. A complementation analysis of the restriction and modification of DNA in Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1969 May 14;41(3):459–472. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(69)90288-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dowhan W., Bibus C. R., Schatz G. The cytoplasmically-made subunit IV is necessary for assembly of cytochrome c oxidase in yeast. EMBO J. 1985 Jan;4(1):179–184. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1985.tb02334.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gasser S. M., Daum G., Schatz G. Import of proteins into mitochondria. Energy-dependent uptake of precursors by isolated mitochondria. J Biol Chem. 1982 Nov 10;257(21):13034–13041. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Guiard B. Structure, expression and regulation of a nuclear gene encoding a mitochondrial protein: the yeast L(+)-lactate cytochrome c oxidoreductase (cytochrome b2). EMBO J. 1985 Dec 1;4(12):3265–3272. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1985.tb04076.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Haid A., Suissa M. Immunochemical identification of membrane proteins after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Methods Enzymol. 1983;96:192–205. doi: 10.1016/s0076-6879(83)96017-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hartl F. U., Schmidt B., Wachter E., Weiss H., Neupert W. Transport into mitochondria and intramitochondrial sorting of the Fe/S protein of ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase. Cell. 1986 Dec 26;47(6):939–951. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90809-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hase T., Müller U., Riezman H., Schatz G. A 70-kd protein of the yeast mitochondrial outer membrane is targeted and anchored via its extreme amino terminus. EMBO J. 1984 Dec 20;3(13):3157–3164. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb02274.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hase T., Nakai M., Matsubara H. The N-terminal 21 amino acids of a 70 kDa protein of the yeast mitochondrial outer membrane direct E. coli beta-galactosidase into the mitochondrial matrix space in yeast cells. FEBS Lett. 1986 Mar 3;197(1-2):199–203. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(86)80326-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hase T., Riezman H., Suda K., Schatz G. Import of proteins into mitochondria: nucleotide sequence of the gene for a 70-kd protein of the yeast mitochondrial outer membrane. EMBO J. 1983;2(12):2169–2172. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1983.tb01718.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hay R., Böhni P., Gasser S. How mitochondria import proteins. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1984 Jan 27;779(1):65–87. doi: 10.1016/0304-4157(84)90004-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hurt E. C., Müller U., Schatz G. The first twelve amino acids of a yeast mitochondrial outer membrane protein can direct a nuclear-coded cytochrome oxidase subunit to the mitochondrial inner membrane. EMBO J. 1985 Dec 16;4(13A):3509–3518. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1985.tb04110.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hurt E. C., Pesold-Hurt B., Suda K., Oppliger W., Schatz G. The first twelve amino acids (less than half of the pre-sequence) of an imported mitochondrial protein can direct mouse cytosolic dihydrofolate reductase into the yeast mitochondrial matrix. EMBO J. 1985 Aug;4(8):2061–2068. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1985.tb03892.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ito H., Fukuda Y., Murata K., Kimura A. Transformation of intact yeast cells treated with alkali cations. J Bacteriol. 1983 Jan;153(1):163–168. doi: 10.1128/jb.153.1.163-168.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Johnston M., Davis R. W. Sequences that regulate the divergent GAL1-GAL10 promoter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Cell Biol. 1984 Aug;4(8):1440–1448. doi: 10.1128/mcb.4.8.1440. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kaput J., Goltz S., Blobel G. Nucleotide sequence of the yeast nuclear gene for cytochrome c peroxidase precursor. Functional implications of the pre sequence for protein transport into mitochondria. J Biol Chem. 1982 Dec 25;257(24):15054–15058. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Li Y., Leonard K., Weiss H. Membrane-bound and water-soluble cytochrome c1 from Neurospora mitochondria. Eur J Biochem. 1981 May;116(1):199–205. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1981.tb05319.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Maarse A. C., Van Loon A. P., Riezman H., Gregor I., Schatz G., Grivell L. A. Subunit IV of yeast cytochrome c oxidase: cloning and nucleotide sequencing of the gene and partial amino acid sequencing of the mature protein. EMBO J. 1984 Dec 1;3(12):2831–2837. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb02216.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Sadler I., Suda K., Schatz G., Kaudewitz F., Haid A. Sequencing of the nuclear gene for the yeast cytochrome c1 precursor reveals an unusually complex amino-terminal presequence. EMBO J. 1984 Sep;3(9):2137–2143. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb02103.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Stueber D., Ibrahimi I., Cutler D., Dobberstein B., Bujard H. A novel in vitro transcription-translation system: accurate and efficient synthesis of single proteins from cloned DNA sequences. EMBO J. 1984 Dec 20;3(13):3143–3148. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb02271.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Suissa M., Suda K., Schatz G. Isolation of the nuclear yeast genes for citrate synthase and fifteen other mitochondrial proteins by a new screening method. EMBO J. 1984 Aug;3(8):1773–1781. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb02045.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Vieira J., Messing J. The pUC plasmids, an M13mp7-derived system for insertion mutagenesis and sequencing with synthetic universal primers. Gene. 1982 Oct;19(3):259–268. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(82)90015-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. van Loon A. P., Schatz G. Transport of proteins to the mitochondrial intermembrane space: the 'sorting' domain of the cytochrome c1 presequence is a stop-transfer sequence specific for the mitochondrial inner membrane. EMBO J. 1987 Aug;6(8):2441–2448. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02523.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. von Heijne G. Mitochondrial targeting sequences may form amphiphilic helices. EMBO J. 1986 Jun;5(6):1335–1342. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1986.tb04364.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The EMBO Journal are provided here courtesy of Nature Publishing Group

RESOURCES