Identification, expression, and import of components 17 and 23 of the inner mitochondrial membrane translocase from Arabidopsis

Characterization of components 17 and 23 of the inner mitochondrial membrane translocase (TIM17:23) from Arabidopsis indicated that there were three genes present for TIM17 and TIM23 and two for TIM44. AtTIM17 differed from the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and mammalian homologs in that two genes encoded proteins that were longer and one gene encoded a shorter protein. All Arabidopsis TIM23 predicted proteins appeared to lack the first 34 amino acids compared with yeast TIM23. All AtTIM17 and AtTIM23 genes were expressed but displayed different tissue and developmental profiles. Complementation of deletion mutants in yeast indicated that for AtTIM17, the extension at the C terminus not present in yeast had to be removed to achieve complementation, whereas for TIM23, a preprotein and amino acid transporter domain had to be present for complementation. Import assays with AtTIM17 and AtTIM23 indicated that they both contained internal signals for integration into the inner mitochondrial membrane in a membrane potential-dependent manner. The C terminus of imported AtTIM17-2 was susceptible to degradation by externally added protease with intact mitochondria. Removal of the 85 C-terminal amino acids resulted in import and full protection of the truncated protein. This suggests that the novel extension at the C terminus of AtTIM17-2 links the outer and inner membrane in a manner analogous to yeast TIM23.