Vacuolar amino acid transporter Avt5p is responsible for lithium uptake in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Abstract

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe was sensitive to salinity; cell growth was stopped by 0.5M NaCl and by 10mM LiCl. The avt5+ gene encodes a vacuolar transporter with a broad specificity for amino acids. We found that the avt5Δ mutant became highly tolerant of Li+ and Na+ in growth. Concanamycin A-sensitive Li+ uptake as well as cellular Li+ content was lower in the avt5 mutant, suggesting a role of Avt5p in cellular uptake of toxic Li+.