Structure-function relationships of zinc transporters in the cation diffusion facilitator family

摘要

Zinc is an essential microelement for all organisms, however the optimal concentration of zinc in the cytosol is very low, and excess amounts of zinc are toxic for organisms. Therefore intracellular zinc concentration is adjusted strictly by zinc-transporters. The cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) family plays an important role in order to decrease cytosolic zinc concentration. To understand the mechanisms of zinc homeostasis in plants, we studied the Arabidopsis CDF family and found structures that allow the regulation of ion transport activity. This article introduces the structure-function relationship of the Arabidopsis CDF proteins, while comparing them to CDF-type proteins from other organisms.