A moonlighting role for enzymes of glycolysis in the co-localization of mitochondria and chloroplasts.

Abstract

Glycolysis is one of the primordial pathways of metabolism, playing a pivotal role in energy metabolism and biosynthesis. Glycolytic enzymes are known to form transient multi-enzyme assemblies. Here we examine the wider protein-protein interactions of plant glycolytic enzymes and reveal a moonlighting role for specific glycolytic enzymes in mediating the co-localization of mitochondria and chloroplasts. Knockout mutation of phosphoglycerate mutase or enolase resulted in a significantly reduced association of the two organelles. We provide evidence that phosphoglycerate mutase and enolase form a substrate-channelling metabolon which is part of a larger complex of proteins including pyruvate kinase. These results alongside a range of genetic complementation experiments are discussed in the context of our current understanding of chloroplast-mitochondrial interactions within photosynthetic eukaryotes.