Endocytic recycling in plants: pathways and regulation.

Abstract

Endocytic recycling is an intracellular trafficking pathway that returns endocytosed molecules to the plasma membrane (PM) via the recycling endosome. This pathway plays a crucial role in remodeling PM composition and is thus essential for normal cellular homeostasis. In plants, endocytic recycling regulates the localization and abundance of receptors, transporters, and channels at the PM that are involved in many aspects of plant growth and development. Despite its importance, the recycling endosome and the underlying sorting mechanisms for cargo recycling in plants remain understudied in comparison to the endocytic recycling pathways of animal systems. In this review, we focus on the cumulative evidence suggesting the existence of endosomes decorated by regulators that contribute to recycling in plant cells. We summarize the chemical inhibitors used for analyzing cargo recycling and discuss recent advances in our understanding of how endocytic recycling participates in various plant cellular and physiological events.