Despite the identification of probably all components of the peroxisomal matrix protein import machinery in recent years (
40,
47), the mechanism underlying the translocation process is still largely unknown. In this report, we have shown that
S. cerevisiae Pex13p plays a direct role in PTS2-dependent peroxisomal protein import and begun to unravel the function of the PTS2-specific peroxins in the early steps of this process.
After their synthesis, PTS2 proteins such as thiolase are specifically recognized by Pex7p (
36,
56). The recognition of PTS2 by Pex7p does not require
S. cerevisiae Pex18p/Pex21p, whereas the latter proteins interact with Fox3p only in the presence of Pex7p (
34). Our demonstration of yeast Pex7p binding a synthetic PTS2 protein in vitro goes beyond that of a previous report, where a Pex7p was used that had been immunoprecipitated from wild-type yeast extracts and thus might have contained other yeast proteins (
36). Our first attempts to study in vitro the influence of Pex18p on the Pex7p-PTS2 interaction failed because bacterially expressed Pex18p did not bind Pex7p, even in the concomitant presence of PTS2 protein (data not shown). However, we could show by immunoprecipitation that such a ternary complex of Pex18p, Pex7p, and Fox3p indeed exists, and we substantiated the requirement for Pex7p in the formation of such a complex. Notwithstanding that, we found that the Fox3p-Pex7p-containing complex that accumulates in a
pex14Δ strain vanished when
PEX18 and
PEX21 were additionally deleted.
S. cerevisiae thiolase is assembled into its active dimeric form in the cytosol even in the absence of its PTS2 sequence (
17), arguing against an essential role for Pex18p/Pex21p in the assembly of enzymatically active Fox3p. Rather, these proteins are required to form an import-competent Fox3p complex.
A similar function in thiolase import was proposed for
Y. lipolytica Pex20p. This protein binds thiolase autonomously, in a PTS2 targeting signal-independent fashion. In fact, Pex20p forms hetero-oligomers with Fox3p, an event that is probably mandatory for the generation of an import-competent complex (
49). In analogy to Pex20p, Pex18p/Pex21p could physically contact Fox3p in the Pex7p-bound conformation. In that case, the targeting signal would be bound by Pex7p, while Pex18p/Pex21p would contact both Pex7p, via their conserved motif (
7), and Fox3p, which would then trigger higher-order oligomerization. Alternatively, Pex18p/Pex21p could assist in forming a Fox3p-Pex7p-containing complex by stabilizing the binding between Pex7p and Fox3p, although the existing two-hybrid data do not support this idea. Still, both cases would explain why Pex20p was able to partially complement a
pex18Δ
pex21Δ mutant strain (
8). Oligomerization as a requirement for import is not just an idiosyncrasy of thiolase. Such a postulate was already raised upon investigating the import of
Candida boidinii alcohol oxidase, which seemed to depend on the oligomerization or aggregation at the cytoplasmic side of the peroxisomal membrane (
4). Since then, the ability of peroxisomes to import folded or even oligomeric proteins has been amply recorded (
28,
52).
Our data also suggest that a complex is formed that contemporaneously contains membrane-associated Pex14p, Pex7p, Pex18p/Pex21p, and Fox3p (Fig. ). In the absence of either Pex7p or Pex18p/Pex21p, Fox3p was no longer able to interact with Pex14p. On the other hand, Fox3p failed to interact with the Pex7p-binding domain of Pex13p even in a wild-type strain (Fig. ). It is unlikely that the lack of interaction was caused by a masking of the interaction domain in Pex13p with the Gal4p moieties, as the same fusion construct was very efficient in recognizing Pex7p and Pex18p/Pex21p, which in turn were able to interact with the Fox3p fusion proteins. Thus, we believe that our data point to a scenario where Pex14p is the initial docking site in PTS2-dependent protein import. We also considered the possibility of Pex13p constituting the initial docking site for the empty Pex5p and Pex7p, which would only then bind their cargo proteins. However, this is hard to reconcile with the observed formation of a Pex7p-Pex18p/Pex21p-Fox3p complex in the
pex13Δ mutant, where this complex must have formed in the cytosol. Future biochemical work will have to demonstrate whether cargo-loaded PTS2 receptor can indeed be found in a complex with Pex14p but not with Pex13p. In mammalian cells, the Pex7p-Pex5pL-PTS2 substrate complex also likely contacts Pex14p prior to Pex13p (
30). It is worth noting that a similar conclusion was drawn for the PTS1 receptor Pex5p of
Pichia pastoris, since substrate-loaded Pex5p bound Pex14p with higher affinity than Pex5p alone, whereas the opposite was true for Pex13p (
50).
In contrast to Fox3p, Pex7p does not require the presence of Pex18p/Pex21p to contact Pex14p (Fig. ). Our in vitro binding analysis showed that this binding event can even occur in the absence of any other yeast protein. Pex7p also contacts Pex13p directly (Fig. ), thereby ruling out the possibility of Pex18p/Pex21p being adapter proteins between Pex7p and the docking complex. Notably,
Y. lipolytica Pex20p did bind
S. cerevisiae Pex13p and Pex14p in the absence of Pex7p (
8). Thus, in
Y. lipolytica the function of a putative Pex7p might be restricted to targeting signal recognition, whereas Pex20p might be required to form an import-competent complex as well as to contact the docking machinery. Alternatively, Pex20p might contain the function of both Pex18p/Pex21p and Pex7p. In mammals, the Pex18p-like factor Pex5pL is able to interact with Pex14p via its diaromatic pentapeptide repeats (
13,
41,
54). It is therefore imaginable that Pex5pL mediates the docking of Pex7p to Pex14p. However, Shimizu and colleagues demonstrated direct binding of Pex7p to Pex14p (
45). In this case, it is also possible that Pex5pL, in analogy to Pex18p, is involved in the formation of a PTS2 cargo import-competent complex.
In light of our results, the role of Pex13p in PTS2 protein import could be substantiated. Deletion of the N-terminal domain of Pex13p, which specifically interacted with Pex7p, affected PTS2-dependent import but left PTS1 protein import intact. The latter observation indicated that Pex14p was correctly targeted to the peroxisomal membrane. As a consequence, the role of Pex13p in PTS2 import is not restricted to the targeting of Pex14p. Rather, Pex13p fulfills an essential step in PTS2 import that is distinct from that governed by Pex14p. This result also meant that although the import of both PTS1 and PTS2 requires Pex13p, the two pathways utilize different regions within Pex13p and therefore do not coincide at the stage of Pex13p in a more narrow sense. Mutations that specifically block one of the two routes have also been found previously for Pex8p and Pex2p, two peroxins that are possibly involved in later steps of the import cascade (
22,
25).
The steps following docking are less clear. Peroxisomal import deviates considerably from the well-established import into mitochondria or the endoplasmic reticulum (
43). An obvious protein translocation channel is lacking, and the ability to import folded or even oligomeric proteins must also be taken into account. Interestingly, Pex18p and Pex21p are constantly degraded due to ubiquitination, which is apparently restricted to the fraction of peroxisomally localized Pex18p/Pex21p (
33). Although it remains to be determined whether the observed degradation of Pex18p/Pex21p is physiologically relevant for PTS2-dependent protein import, it could be that Pex18p/Pex21p are required not only for the formation of an import-competent PTS2 cargo protein complex but also for a step that follows docking.