Endoplasmic reticulum membrane receptors of the GET pathway are conserved throughout eukaryotes

Abstract

Type II tail-anchored (TA) membrane proteins are involved in diverse cellular processes, including protein translocation, vesicle trafficking, and apoptosis. They are characterized by a single C-terminal transmembrane domain that mediates posttranslational targeting and insertion into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) via the Guided-Entry of TA proteins (GET) pathway. The GET system was originally described in mammals and yeast but was recently shown to be partially conserved in other eukaryotes, such as higher plants. A newly synthesized TA protein is shielded from the cytosol by a pretargeting complex and an ATPase that delivers the protein to the ER, where membrane receptors (Get1/WRB and Get2/CAML) facilitate insertion. In the model plantArabidopsis thaliana, most components of the pathway were identified throughin silicosequence comparison, however, a functional homolog of the coreceptor Get2/CAML remained elusive. We performed immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry analysis to detect in vivo interactors ofAtGET1 and identified a membrane protein of unknown function with low sequence homology but high structural homology to both yeast Get2 and mammalian CAML. The protein localizes to the ER membrane, coexpresses withAtGET1, and binds toArabidopsisGET pathway components. While loss-of-function lines phenocopy the stunted root hair phenotype of otherAtgetlines, its heterologous expression together with the coreceptorAtGET1 rescues growth defects ofΔget1get2yeast. Ectopic expression of the cytosolic, positively charged N terminus is sufficient to block TA protein insertion in vitro. Our results collectively confirm that we have identified a plant-specific GET2 inArabidopsis, and its sequence allows the analysis of cross-kingdom pathway conservation.