Abstract
The ABC transporter family is large and widespread in all organisms. In plants, this family is usually highly expanded with more than 100 ABC transporters that can be divided into eight subfamilies (ABCA–ABCG and ABCI). Significant progress has been made in the structural and functional characterization of ABC genes in the last 20 years, not only in dicots but also in monocots.
In this review, we focused on the research of ABC transporter in monocots. ABCB genes of maize and sorghum play an important role in stalk growth through modulating polar auxin transport. ZmABCC3 and ZmABCC4 function in anthocyanin transport. Additionally, ZmABCC4 and its homologous genes in soybean and rice are involved in phytic acid accumulation. Wheat ABCG transporter LR34 was associated with robust and durable resistance to the diseases, whereas barley ABCG transporter, HvABCG31, plays an essential role in leaf water conservation associated to the cutin formation. Rice ABCG15 plays an important role in the transport of anther cuticle and sporopollenin precursors whereas ABCG5 is involved in controlling shoot branching. OsSTAR1 and OsSTAR2 are members of ABCI subfamily with implications in aluminum toxicity response. Compared to this, little is know about the members of ABCA, ABCD, ABCE, ABCF, and ABCI subfamilies in monocots.
Eukaryotic ABC transporters consist of two hydrophobic transmembrane domains (TMDs) contributing to the substrate translocation pathway and two nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs) involved in ATP binding. TMDs contain several membrane-spanning α-helices and NBDs contain several highly conserved motifs: Walker A, Walker B, ABC signature, H loop, and the Q loop. Prokaryotic ABC importers have a fifth domain: the substrate-binding protein (SBP) responsible for the substrate specificity of ABC importers (Higgins and Linton, Nat Struct Mol Biol 11:918–926, 2004).
On the basis of sequence similarity, protein size (full, half or quarter molecule), orientation (forward or reverse pattern), and the presence or absence of idiotypic transmembrane and/or linker domains, the plant ABC proteins can be divided into 8 subfamilies (ABCA–ABCG and ABCI) according to Verrier et al. (Trends Plant Sci 13:151–159, 2008) who introduced the systematical nomenclature for plants ABC proteins.