2. Academic Validation
  3. Structural basis of cytokinin transport by the Arabidopsis AZG2

Structural basis of cytokinin transport by the Arabidopsis AZG2

  • Nat Commun. 2025 Apr 11;16(1):3475. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58802-6.
Hong Wei # 1 2,  Zhisen Yang # 1 2,  Huihui Liu # 3,  Wei Ying # 1 2,  Yongxiang Gao 1 2,  Lizhe Zhu 4,  Xin Liu 5 6,  Linfeng Sun 7 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, MOE Key Laboratory for Membraneless Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Center for Advanced Interdisciplinary Science and Biomedicine of IHM, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
  • 2 Biomedical Sciences and Health Laboratory of Anhui Province, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
  • 3 Warshel Institute for Computational Biology, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China.
  • 4 Warshel Institute for Computational Biology, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China. zhulizhe@cuhk.edu.cn.
  • 5 Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, MOE Key Laboratory for Membraneless Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Center for Advanced Interdisciplinary Science and Biomedicine of IHM, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China. lx023@ustc.edu.cn.
  • 6 Biomedical Sciences and Health Laboratory of Anhui Province, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China. lx023@ustc.edu.cn.
  • 7 Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, MOE Key Laboratory for Membraneless Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Center for Advanced Interdisciplinary Science and Biomedicine of IHM, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China. sunlf17@ustc.edu.cn.
  • 8 Biomedical Sciences and Health Laboratory of Anhui Province, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China. sunlf17@ustc.edu.cn.
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 40216803 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58802-6
Abstract

Cytokinins are adenine derivatives serving as phytohormones, which are essential regulators of plant growth, development, and response to environmental factors. The transport process of cytokinins determines their spatial distributions and is critical to their functions. The AZA-GUANINE RESISTANT (AZG) family member AZG2 in Arabidopsis thaliana has been identified as a Cytokinin and purine transporter. Here, we characterize the binding and transport of AZG2 towards the natural Cytokinin, trans-zeatin (tZ), as well as adenine. AZG2 structures are determined in both the substrate-unbound, adenine-bound, and tZ-bound states, under both acidic and neutral pH. Key residues involved in substrate binding are identified. Two distinct conformations are observed in the tZ-bound state of AZG2 in the neutral pH. Structural analysis reveals the structural dynamics of AZG2 during Cytokinin transport, which fit into the elevator-type transport model. These results provide insights into the molecular mechanism of Cytokinin transport in Plants.

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