Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal.
Genomics of Plant Stress Unit, ITQB NOVA - Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal.
Mol Plant. 2019 Sep 2;12(9):1182-1202. doi: 10.1016/j.molp.2019.07.003. Epub 2019 Jul 19.
The Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS) is ubiquitous in living organisms and represents the largest group of secondary active membrane transporters. In plants, significant research efforts have focused on the role of specific families within the MFS, particularly those transporting macronutrients (C, N, and P) that constitute the vast majority of the members of this superfamily. Other MFS families remain less explored, although a plethora of additional substrates and physiological functions have been uncovered. Nevertheless, the lack of a systematic approach to analyzing the MFS as a whole has obscured the high diversity and versatility of these transporters. Here, we present a phylogenetic analysis of all annotated MFS domain-containing proteins encoded in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome and propose that this superfamily of transporters consists of 218 members, clustered in 22 families. In reviewing the available information regarding the diversity in biological functions and substrates of Arabidopsis MFS members, we provide arguments for intensified research on these membrane transporters to unveil the breadth of their physiological relevance, disclose the molecular mechanisms underlying their mode of action, and explore their biotechnological potential.
主要易化超家族（MFS）在生物体内普遍存在，代表了最大的次级主动膜转运蛋白家族。在植物中，大量的研究工作集中在 MFS 中特定家族的作用上，特别是那些运输构成该超家族绝大多数成员的大量营养素（C、N 和 P）的家族。其他 MFS 家族仍未得到充分探索，尽管已经发现了大量其他的底物和生理功能。然而，由于缺乏系统的方法来分析整个 MFS，这些转运蛋白的高度多样性和多功能性仍然不为人知。在这里，我们对拟南芥基因组中所有注释的 MFS 结构域蛋白进行了系统发育分析，并提出该转运蛋白超家族由 218 个成员组成，分为 22 个家族。在回顾有关拟南芥 MFS 成员生物功能和底物多样性的现有信息时，我们为加强对这些膜转运蛋白的研究提供了论据，以揭示其生理相关性的广度，揭示其作用模式的分子机制，并探索其生物技术潜力。
