Structural insights into the calcium-coupled zinc export of human ZnT1.

Cellular zinc (Zn) homeostasis is essential to human health and is under tight regulations. Human zinc transporter 1 (hZnT1) is a plasma membrane-localized Zn exporter belonging to the ZnT family, and its functional aberration is associated with multiple diseases. Here, we show that hZnT1 works as a Zn/Ca exchanger.

Structural insights into auxin recognition and efflux by Arabidopsis PIN1.

Polar auxin transport is unique to plants and coordinates their growth and development. The PIN-FORMED (PIN) auxin transporters exhibit highly asymmetrical localizations at the plasma membrane and drive polar auxin transport; however, their structures and transport mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we report three inward-facing conformation structures of Arabidopsis thaliana PIN1: the apo state, bound to the natural auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and in complex with the polar auxin transport inhibitor N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA).