Genome-wide identification of genes that play a role in boron stress response in yeast.

Boron is an essential micronutrient for plants and it is either necessary or beneficial for animals. Studies identified only few genes related to boron metabolism thus far and details of how boron is imported into cells and used in cell metabolism are largely unknown. In order to identify genes that play roles in boron metabolism, we screened the entire set of yeast haploid deletion mutants and identified 6 mutants that were resistant to toxic levels of boron, and 21 mutants that were highly sensitive to boron treatment. Furthermore, we performed a proteomic approach to identify additional proteins that are significantly up-regulated by boron treatment. Our results revealed many genes and pathways related to boron stress response and suggest a possible link between boron toxicity and translational control.

Roles of ATR1 paralogs YMR279c and YOR378w in boron stress tolerance.

Boron is a necessary nutrient for plants and animals, however excess of it causes toxicity. Previously, Atr1 and Arabidopsis Bor1 homolog were identified as the boron efflux pump in yeast, which lower the cytosolic boron concentration and help cells to survive in the presence of toxic amount of boron. In this study, we analyzed ATR1 paralogs, YMR279c and YOR378w, to understand whether they participate in boron stress tolerance in yeast. Even though these genes share homology with ATR1, neither their deletion rendered cells boron sensitive nor their expression was significantly upregulated by boron treatment. However, expression of YMR279, but not YOR378w, from the constitutive GAPDH promoter on a high copy plasmid provided remarkable boron resistance by decreasing intracellular boron levels. Thus our results suggest the presence of a third boron exporter, YMR279c, which functions similar to ATR1 and provides boron resistance in yeast.

The importance of boron in biological systems.

Boron is an essential element for plants and probably essential for human and animal health. Boron has a broad range of physiological effects on biological systems at low concentrations, whereas it is toxic to at high concentrations. Eventhough there are many studies on boron's biological effects and toxicity, more information is needed to understand the mechanisms of its action. The aim of the current work is to review boron's function, transport and toxicity in different biological systems.

Boron stress activates the general amino acid control mechanism and inhibits protein synthesis.

Boron is an essential micronutrient for plants, and it is beneficial for animals. However, at high concentrations boron is toxic to cells although the mechanism of this toxicity is not known. Atr1 has recently been identified as a boron efflux pump whose expression is upregulated in response to boron treatment. Here, we found that the expression of ATR1 is associated with expression of genes involved in amino acid biosynthesis. These mechanisms are strictly controlled by the transcription factor Gcn4 in response to boron treatment. Further analyses have shown that boron impaired protein synthesis by promoting phosphorylation of eIF2α in a Gcn2 kinase dependent manner. The uncharged tRNA binding domain (HisRS) of Gcn2 is necessary for the phosphorylation of eIF2α in the presence of boron. We postulate that boron exerts its toxic effect through activation of the general amino acid control system and inhibition of protein synthesis. Since the general amino acid control pathway is conserved among eukaryotes, this mechanism of boron toxicity may be of general importance.