Functional dependence on calcineurin by variants of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae vacuolar Ca2+/H+ exchanger Vcx1p.

The Ca(2+)-dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin is an important regulator of ion transporters from many organisms, including the Saccharomyces cerevisiae vacuolar Ca(2+)/H(+) exchanger Vcx1p. In yeast and plants, cation/H(+) exchangers are important in shaping cytosolic Ca(2+) levels involved in signal transduction and providing tolerance to potentially toxic concentrations of cations such as Ca(2+), Mn(2+) and Cd(2+). Previous genetic evidence suggested Vcx1p is negatively regulated by calcineurin. By utilizing direct transport measurements into vacuolar membrane vesicles, we demonstrate that Vcx1p is a low-affinity Ca(2+) transporter and may also function in Cd(2+) transport, but cannot transport Mn(2+). Furthermore, direct Ca(2+) transport by Vcx1p is calcineurin sensitive. Using a yeast growth assay, a mutant allele of VCX1 (VCX1-S204A/L208P), termed VCX1-M1, was previously found to confer strong Mn(2+) tolerance. Here we demonstrate that this Mn(2+) tolerance is independent of the Ca(2+)/Mn(2+)-ATPase Pmr1p and results from Mn(2+)-specific vacuolar transport activity of Vcx1-M1p. This Mn(2+) transport by Vcx1-M1p is calcineurin dependent, although the localization of Vcx1-M1p to the vacuole appears to be calcineurin independent. Additionally, we demonstrate that mutation of L208P alone is enough to confer calcineurin-dependent Mn(2+) tolerance. This study demonstrates that calcineurin can positively regulate the transport of cations by VCX1-M1p.