Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Reduction of Aluminum Toxicity by 2-Isopropylmalic Acid in the Budding Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

  • Published:
Biological Trace Element Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae secretes 2-isopropylmalic acid (2-iPMA), an intermediate in leucine biosynthesis. Because 2-iPMA binds Al(III) in the culture medium, it is thought to reduce toxicity by Al(III). The effects of 2-iPMA and malic acid (MA) on Al toxicity were investigated in a medium with a low pH and low concentrations of phosphates and magnesium. The reduction in the growth of S. cerevisiae observed in the presence of 100 μM Al(III) ions was relieved more by the addition of 1.0 mM 2-iPMA than by 1.0 mM MA, indicating that 2-iPMA possesses superior Al(III)-ion detoxification ability. Investigations using the wild type and the Δleu4 and Δleu9 mutant strains indicated that secretion of a sufficient level of 2-iPMA was required to enhance the Al tolerance. It is thought that 2-iPMA secreted from the yeast cells chelates Al ions and prevents them from entering the cells, resulting in Al tolerance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Lindsay WL, Walthall PM (1996) The solubility of aluminum in soils. In: Sposito G (ed) The environmental chemistry of aluminum. CRC, Boca Raton, pp 333–36

    Google Scholar 

  2. Kochian LV, Hoekenga OA, Piňeros MA (2004) How do crop plants tolerate acid soils? Mechanisms of aluminum tolerance and phosphorous efficiency. Ann Rev Plant Biol 55:459–493

    Google Scholar 

  3. Ma JF, Furukawa J (2003) Recent progress in the research of external Al detoxification in higher plants: a minireview. J Inorg Biochem 97:46–51

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Tesfaye M, Temple SJ, Allan DL, Vance CP, Samac DA (2001) Overexpression of malate dehydrogenase in transgenic alfalfa enhances organic acid synthesis and confers tolerance to aluminum. Plant Physiol 127:1836–1844

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Anoop VM, Basu U, McCammon MT, McAlister-Henn L, Taylor GJ (2003) Modulation of citrate metabolism alters aluminum tolerance in yeast and transgenic canola overexpressing a mitochondrial citrate synthase. Plant Physiol 132:2205–2217

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Delhaize E, Ryan PR, Hebb DM, Yamamoto Y, Sasaki T, Matsumoto H (2004) Engineering high-level aluminum tolerance in barley with the ALMT1 gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 42:15249–15254

    Google Scholar 

  7. MacDiarmid CW, Gardner RC (1996) Al toxicity in yeast A role for Mg? Plant Physiol 112:1101–1109

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Schott EJ, Gardner RC (1997) Aluminum-sensitive mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Gen Genet 254:63–72

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Kakimoto M, Kobayashi A, Fukuda R, Ono Y, Ohta A, Yoshimura E (2005) Genome-wide screening of aluminum tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. BioMetals 18:467–474

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Kobayashi A, Edo H, Furihata K, Yoshimura E (2005) Secretion of an aluminum chelator, 2-isopropylmalic acid, by the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Inorg Biochem 99:1260–1263

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Tashiro M, Fujimoto T, Suzuki T, Furihata K, Machinami T, Yoshimura E (2006) Spectroscopic characterization of 2-isopropylmalic acid Al(III) complex. J Inorg Biochem 100:201–205

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Sherman F (1991) Getting started with yeast. Methods Enzymol 94:3–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Ito K, Sato K, Abo M, Yoshimura E (2007) Development of an analytical HPLC system for the specific detection of 2-isopropylmalic acid in yeast growth medium. Anal Biochem 364:213–215

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kohlhaw GB (2003) Leucine biosynthesis in fungi: Entering metabolism through the back door. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 67:1–15

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

This research was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (numbers 16380067 and 18550082) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology and a grant from the Tokyo Ohka Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Technology.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-5687, Japan

    Taisuke Suzuki, Shun Tamura, Hiromi Nakanishi & Etsuro Yoshimura

  2. Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Technology, Meisei University, Hino, 191-8506, Japan

    Mitsuru Tashiro

  3. Department of Global Agricultural Sciences, School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-5687, Japan

    Naoko K. Nishizawa

Authors
  1. Taisuke Suzuki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shun Tamura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hiromi Nakanishi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mitsuru Tashiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Naoko K. Nishizawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Etsuro Yoshimura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Etsuro Yoshimura.

Additional information

Suzuki and Tamura contributed equally to this work.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Suzuki, T., Tamura, S., Nakanishi, H. et al. Reduction of Aluminum Toxicity by 2-Isopropylmalic Acid in the Budding Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Biol Trace Elem Res 120, 257–263 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-007-8011-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-007-8011-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation