Origin and evolution of transporter substrate specificity within the NPF family

Despite vast diversity in metabolites and the matching substrate specificity of their transporters, little is known about how evolution of transporter substrate specificities is linked to emergence of substrates via evolution of biosynthetic pathways. Transporter specificity towards the recently evolved glucosinolates characteristic of Brassicales is shown to evolve prior to emergence of glucosinolate biosynthesis. Furthermore, we show that glucosinolate transporters belonging to the ubiquitous NRT1/PTR FAMILY (NPF) likely evolved from transporters of the ancestral cyanogenic glucosides found across more than 2500 species outside of the Brassicales. Biochemical characterization of orthologs along the phylogenetic lineage from cassava to A. thaliana, suggests that alterations in the electrogenicity of the transporters accompanied changes in substrate specificity. Linking the evolutionary path of transporter substrate specificities to that of the biosynthetic pathways, exemplify how transporter substrate specificities originate and evolve as new biosynthesis pathways emerge. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19466.001
eLife digest All living cells are surrounded by membranes that protect them from the external environment. The membrane contains proteins called transporters, which move nutrients and other molecules (known as substrates) across the membrane. A variety of transporters have evolved to move the hundreds of thousands of different substrates found in nature. Plant cells make many different compounds to protect themselves from pests and diseases. A group of transporters known as the NPF family move some of these compounds across the cells outer membrane. The types of substrates they transport vary in different plants. In cassava, for example, NPF transporters move compounds called cyanogenic glucosides, which are poisonous to humans and other animals. On the other hand, NPF transporters in another plant called Arabidopsis thaliana can move bitter-tasting compounds called glucosinolates. The process that makes glucosinolates in plants evolved from the process that makes cyanogenic glucosides. Can transporters evolve the ability to move a new substrate before or after that substrate first appears? To answer this question, Jørgensen et al. studied the NPF family in A. thaliana, cassava and another plant called papaya that makes both cyanogenic glucosides and glucosinolates. The experiments suggest that NPF transporters able to move both cyanogenic glucosides and glucosinolates evolved before plants evolved the ability to make glucosinolates. Later in evolution, these multi-specific transporters specialized to only move glucosinolates. Jørgensen et al. also show that early glucosinolate transporters could move a broad variety of glucosinolates but later evolved to only transport particular types. These findings show how transporters and the processes that make compounds in cells may evolve together. A future challenge will be to understand the molecular changes in a transporter that make it specific for a certain substrate. This may help researchers to develop new ways of controlling the amount of toxic compounds in crops we eat by manipulating how the compounds are transported. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19466.002