The Company of Biologists, Journal of Cell Science, 2(131), p. jcs203802
DOI: 10.1242/jcs.203802
Full text: Unavailable
p24 proteins are key regulators of protein trafficking along the secretory pathway but very little is known about their functions in plants. A quadruple loss-of-function mutant affecting the p24 genes from the δ-1 subclass of the p24 delta subfamily (p24δ3δ4δ5δ6) showed alterations in the Golgi apparatus, suggesting that these p24 proteins play a role in the organization of the compartments of the early secretory pathway in Arabidopsis. Loss of p24δ-1 proteins also induced the accumulation of the K/HDEL receptor ERD2 at the Golgi apparatus and increased secretion of the ER chaperone BiP, an HDEL ligand, probably due to an inhibition of COPI-dependent Golgi-to-ER transport of ERD2 and thus retrieval of K/HDEL ligands. Although the p24δ3δ4δ5δ6 mutant showed enhanced sensitivity to salt stress, it did not show obvious phenotypic alterations under standard growth conditions. Interestingly, this mutant showed a constitutive activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) and the up-regulation of the COPII subunit SEC31A, which may help the plant to cope with those transport defects in the absence of p24 proteins.