Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is an essential process of cellular cargo uptake operating in all eukaryotes. In animal and yeast, CME involves BAR-SH3 domain proteins, endophilins and amphiphysins, which function at the conclusion of CME to recruit factors for vesicle scission and uncoating. Arabidopsis thaliana contains BAR-SH3 domain proteins SH3P1-3, but their role is poorly understood. We identify SH3P1-3 as functional homologues of endophilin/amphiphysin. SH3P1-3 bind to discrete foci at the plasma membrane (PM), and colocalization indicates late recruitment of SH3P2 to a subset of clathrin-coated pits. PM recruitment pattern of SH3P2 is nearly identical to its interactor, a putative vesicle uncoating factor AUXILIN-LIKE1, and SH3P1-3 are required for most of AUXILIN-LIKE1 PM binding. This indicates a plant-specific modification of CME, where BAR-SH3 proteins recruit auxilin-like uncoating factors, rather than the uncoating phosphatases synaptojanins. Furthermore, we identify an unexpected redundancy between SH3P1-3 and a plant-specific endocytic adaptor, TPLATE complex, showing a contribution of SH3P1-3 to gross CME.

Within the plant endomembrane system, the vesicle coat protein clathrin localizes to the plasma membrane (PM) and the trans-Golgi Network/Early Endosome (TGN/EE). While the role of clathrin as a major component of endocytosis at the PM is well established, its function at TGN/EE, possibly in exocytosis or the vacuolar pathway, is a matter of debate. This shared function of clathrin also opens a question whether plant cells possess a homeostatic mechanisms that balance rates of opposite trafficking routes, such as endo- and exocytosis. Here we address these questions using lines inducibly silencing CLATHRIN HEAVY CHAIN (CHC). We find a relocation of exocytic soluble and integral membrane protein cargoes to the vacuole, supporting a function of clathrin in exocytosis. A comparison with lines overexpressing AUXILIN-LIKE1, where inhibition of CME precedes rerouting of secretory cargoes, does not support a homeostatic regulatory mechanism adjusting exocytosis to the rates of endocytosis. Complementary experiments reveal only minor and variably detectable reductions in the rates of CME in secretory mutants, also not indicative of a converse homeostatic mechanism adjusting rates of endocytosis to the rates of secretion.

Formation of endomembrane vesicles is crucial in all eukaryotic cells and relies on vesicle coats such as clathrin. Clathrin-coated vesicles form at the plasma membrane and the trans-Golgi Network. They contain adaptor proteins, which serve as binding bridges between clathrin, vesicle membranes, and cargoes. A large family of monomeric ANTH/ENTH/VHS adaptors is present in A. thaliana. Here, we characterize two homologous ANTH-type clathrin adaptors, CAP1 and ECA4, in clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). CAP1 and ECA4 are recruited to sites at the PM identified as clathrin-coated pits (CCPs), where they occasionally exhibit early bursts of high recruitment. Subcellular binding preferences of N- and C-terminal fluorescent protein fusions of CAP1 identified a functional adaptin-binding motif in the unstructured tails of CAP1 and ECA4. In turn, no function can be ascribed to a double serine phosphorylation site conserved in these proteins. Double knockout mutants do not exhibit deficiencies in general development or CME, but a contribution of CAP1 and ECA4 to these processes is revealed in crosses into sensitized endocytic mutant backgrounds. Overall, our study documents a contribution of CAP1 and ECA4 to CME in A. thaliana and opens questions about functional redundancy among non-homologous vesicle coat components.

Small GTPases play essential roles in the organization of eukaryotic cells. In recent years, it has become clear that their intracellular functions result from intricate biochemical networks of the GTPase and their regulators that dynamically bind to a membrane surface. Due to the inherent complexities of their interactions, however, revealing the underlying mechanisms of action is often difficult to achieve from in vivo studies. This review summarizes in vitro reconstitution approaches developed to obtain a better mechanistic understanding of how small GTPase activities are regulated in space and time.

The GNOM (GN) Guanine nucleotide Exchange Factor for ARF small GTPases (ARF-GEF) is among the best studied trafficking regulators in plants, playing crucial and unique developmental roles in patterning and polarity. The current models place GN at the Golgi apparatus (GA), where it mediates secretion/recycling, and at the plasma membrane (PM) presumably contributing to clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). The mechanistic basis of the developmental function of GN, distinct from the other ARF-GEFs including its homologue GNOM-LIKE1 (GNL1), remains elusive. Insights from this study redefine the current notions of GN function. We show that GN, but not GNL1, localizes to the PM at long-lived structures distinct from clathrin-coated pits, while CME and secretion proceed normally in gn knockouts. The functional GN mutant variant GNfewerroots, absent from the GA, suggests that PM is the major place of GN action responsible for its developmental function. Following inhibition by Brefeldin A, GN, but not GNL1, relocates to the PM likely on exocytic vesicles, suggesting selective molecular associations. A study of GN-GNL1 chimeric ARF-GEFs indicate that all GN domains contribute to the specific GN function in a partially redundant manner. Together, this study offers significant steps towards the elucidation of the mechanism underlying unique cellular and development functions of GN.