Modes of interaction between the Arabidopsis Rab protein, Ara4, and its putative regulator molecules revealed by a yeast expression system

Ara4, a member of the Rab/Ypt GTPase family derived from Arabidopsis thaliana, causes severe growth inhibition when expressed in several yeast ypt mutants. Mutational analysis of ARA4 indicated that the Ara4 protein titrates at least three factors in yeast, including the GDP dissociation inhibitor (GDI). The coexpression of AtGDI1 (Arabidopsis GDI) suppressed the growth defect caused by Ara4 in yeast ypt1, suggesting that Ara4 and AtGDI1 interact in yeast to compensate for the titration of yeast GDI. We screened an Arabidopsis cDNA library for other suppressors that may also interact with Ara4 physiologically. A novel suppressor, SAY1, encoded a hydrophilic protein with two putative coiled-coil regions, which showed partial similarity to the yeast Vps27 protein. To understand the structural requirements of Ara4 for interacting with these molecules, we examined whether AtGDI1 and SAY1 could suppress the growth defect of ypt1 caused by various mutant versions of ARA4. The results indicated that the interaction between Ara4 and AtGDI1 depends on the conserved C-terminal Cys-motif and Thr44 in the effector domain of Ara4. In contrast, neither of these motifs is necessary for the interaction between Say1 and Ara4. This approach provides a powerful method to dissect complex interactions between a GTPase and its regulators.