Alternative targeting of Arabidopsis plastidic glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase G6PD1 involves cysteine‐dependent interaction with G6PD4 in the cytosol

Summary Arabidopsis peroxisomes contain an incomplete oxidative pentose‐phosphate pathway (OPPP), consisting of 6‐phosphogluconolactonase and 6‐phosphogluconate dehydrogenase isoforms with peroxisomal targeting signals (PTS). To start the pathway, glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is required; however, G6PD isoforms with obvious C‐terminal PTS1 or N‐terminal PTS2 motifs are lacking. We used fluorescent reporter fusions to explore possibly hidden peroxisomal targeting information. Among the six Arabidopsis G6PD isoforms only plastid‐predicted G6PD1 with free C‐terminal end localized to peroxisomes. Detailed analyses identified SKY as an internal PTS1‐like signal; however, in a medial G6PD1 reporter fusion with free N‐ and C‐terminal ends this cryptic information was overruled by the transit peptide. Yeast two‐hybrid analyses revealed selective protein–protein interactions of G6PD1 with catalytically inactive G6PD4, and of both G6PD isoforms with plastid‐destined thioredoxin m2 (Trxm2). Serine replacement of redox‐sensitive cysteines conserved in G6PD4 abolished the G6PD4–G6PD1 interaction, albeit analogous changes in G6PD1 did not. In planta bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) demonstrated that the G6PD4–G6PD1 interaction results in peroxisomal import. BiFC also confirmed the interaction of Trxm2 with G6PD4 (or G6PD1) in plastids, but co‐expression analyses revealed Trxm2‐mediated retention of medial G6PD4 (but not G6PD1) reporter fusions in the cytosol that was stabilized by CxxC113S exchange in Trxm2. Based on preliminary findings with plastid‐predicted rice G6PD isoforms, we dismiss Arabidopsis G6PD4 as non‐functional. G6PD4 orthologs (new P0 class) apparently evolved to become cytosolic redox switches that confer thioredoxin‐relayed alternative targeting to peroxisomes.