Letters: Auxin and vesicle traffic (Plant Physiol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyThree letters to Plant Physiology address the role of vesicles in auxin transport, discussing the evidence and conclusions from a recently published paper from three perspectives. Does auxin accumulate in endocytic vesicles? If so, how, and why? The Letters address both the methods used and the intrepetation…
A functional study of AUXILIN-LIKE1 and 2, two putative clathrin uncoating factors in Arabidopsis (Plant Cell)
Plant Science Research WeeklyTrafficking within a cell can occur through clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). CME depends upon coating plasma membrane vesicles with clathrin and adaptor proteins but the mechanism is unclear in plants. Adamowski et al. establish a means with which to study this process in order to further elucidate…
Regulation of Arabidopsis Brassinosteroid receptor BRI1 endocytosis and ubiquitination ($) (PNAS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyBRI1 (BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE1) is a plasma-membrane localized brassinosteroid (BR) receptor that is endocytosed to internal membranes following BR binding. In this study, Zhou, Liu et al. provide a mechanistic model of BRI1 endocytosis through ubiquitination. They identified two E3 ubiquitin ligases,…
The auxin-regulated CrRLK1L kinase ERULUS controls cell wall composition during root hair tip growth ($) (Curr Biol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyRoot hair outgrowth requires the plant hormone auxin and polarized tip growth and cell wall deposition. Schoenaers et al. showed that the plasma membrane-localized receptor-like kinase ERULUS (ERU) regulates tip growth in root hairs. ERU is regulated by auxin via ARF7 and ARF19 transcription factors,…
A computational framework for cortical microtubule dynamics in realistically shaped plant cells (PLOS Comp Biol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlant growth and development consist of highly organized cellular patterns and depend on the directional growth and orientation of cells. Understanding microtubule dynamics is key to deciphering the formation of cellular shape and growth direction. In this research, Chakrabortty et al. employed analytical…
Why and how plants make puzzle cells (eLIFE)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn proliferating tissues, plant cells start small and then expand to up to 100 times their original size. Sapala, Runions and collaborators studied the relationship between mechanical stress and shape to see if mechanical stress could affect the shape of epidermal cells. Simulations were run to see the…
Gibberellin DELLA signaling targets the retromer complex to redirect protein trafficking to the plasma membrane (PNAS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyGibberellins including gibberellic acid (GA) are plant hormones required for growth and development. GA has been reported to regulate tropic responses by modulating plasma membrane localization of PIN auxin transporters. In this study, Salanenka et al. focused on the mechanism of GA-mediated protein…
Distinct sets of tethering complexes, SNARE complexes, and Rab GTPases mediate membrane fusion at the vacuole in Arabidopsis (PNAS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn plant cells, vacuoles store and degrade wastes including proteins. Vacuolar targeting and fusion by endosomes are specified by SNARE complexes at the membrane. In this study, Takemoto et al. studied the function of two tethering complexes, HOPS (Homotypic fusion and Protein Sorting) and CORVET (Class…
A phosphoinositide map at the shoot apical meristem in Arabidopsis thaliana (BMC Biol.)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlasma membrane lipids including phosphatidylinositol phosphates (PIPs) are often depicted as forming a featureless plane that serves mainly as a barrier, but in reality they show considerable spatial diversity. PIPs contribute to anchoring and positioning proteins and protein networks, so there is much…