OzTracs: Optical Osmolality Reporters Engineered from Mechanosensitive Ion Channels

Abstract

Interactions between physical forces and membrane proteins underpin many forms of environmental sensation and acclimation. Microbes survive sudden osmotic stresses with the help of mechanically gated ion channels and osmolyte transporters. Plant mechanosensitive ion channels have been shown to function in defense signaling. Here, we engineered genetically encoded osmolality sensors (OzTracs) by fusing green fluorescent protein spectral variants to the mechanosensitive ion channels MscL from E. coli or MSL10 from A. thaliana. When expressed in yeast cells, OzTrac sensors reported osmolality changes as a proportional change in emission ratio of the two fluorescent protein domains. Live-cell imaging revealed accumulation of fluorescent sensors in internal aggregates presumably derived from the endomembrane system. Thus, OzTrac sensors serve as osmolality-dependent reporters through an indirect mechanism, such as effects on molecular crowding or fluorophore solvation.