Caenorhabditis elegans P5B-type ATPase CATP-5 operates in polyamine transport and is crucial for norspermidine-mediated suppression of RNA interference.

ABSTRACT: Physiological polyamines are required in various biological processes. In the current study, we used norspermidine, a structural analog of the natural polyamine spermidine, to investigate polyamine uptake in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Norspermidine was found to have two remarkable effects: it is toxic for the nematode, without affecting its food, Escherichia coli; and it hampers RNA interference. By characterizing a norspermidine-resistant C. elegans mutant strain that has been isolated in a genetic screen, we demonstrate that both effects, as well as the uptake of a fluorescent polyamine-conjugate, depend on the transporter protein CATP-5, a novel P(5B)-type ATPase. To our knowledge, CATP-5 represents the first P(5)-type ATPase that is associated with the plasma membrane,

SUBMITTER: Heinick A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2797033 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature