Sorting and anterograde trafficking at the Golgi apparatus

Abstract

In general, the basic principles of trafficking systems in plant cells appear to be similar to those in animal and yeast cells, indicating that trafficking mechanisms are highly conserved throughout all eukaryotes (Jurgens, 2004; Vitale and Hinz, 2005). However, there are still considerable variations at the molecular level as well as in applying these basic principles to situations in plant cells, such as multiple vacuole types in a single cell or cell plate formation during cytokinesis (Jurgens, 2004; Jolliffe et al., 2005; Robinson et al., 2005, 2007; Mo et al., 2006). Additionally, the role of the trans-Golgi network (TGN) as the early endosome in plant cells is drastically different from the function of the TGN in animal cells and yeast (Lam et al., 2007). These differences provide compelling reasons to study protein trafficking in plant cells. Earlier studies have focused primarily on the identification of sorting motifs in cargo proteins. However, recent studies have focused more on identification of the molecular players involved in the various steps of trafficking (Jurgens, 2004; Robinson et al., 2007). Detailed studies of the components of these pathways will provide a deeper understanding of these important aspects of plant biology and may elucidate similarities, as well as differences, in trafficking mechanisms between animal and plant cells.