Abstract
Recent studies revealed that endocytosis is involved in the many plant functions of higher order, although detailed molecular mechanisms of endocytosis remains almost unknown. In Arabidopsis, many Rab GTPases including Rab5 members, Ara7, Rha1 and Ara6, regulate endocytosis. The SNARE is another key player in the endocytic traffic. AtVAM3/SYP22 encodes a SNARE protein localized both on the vacuolar membrane and pre-vacuolar compartments. atvam3/syp22 shows wide spectrum of phenotypes including wavy leaves, semi-dwarfism, excessive differentiation of myrosin cells and late flowering. We have reported that ara7 and rha1 enhance the phenotypes of atvam3/syp22, whereas ara6 suppresses them. This suggests that the wide range of phenotypes observed in atvam3/syp22 is caused by the defect in the endocytic pathway. In this meeting, we will present our recent results on the relationship between the endocytic pathway and regulation of flowering, which are suggested by the detailed analysis of the late flowering phenotype of atvam3/syp22.
