The PIN-FORMED (PIN) proteins are secondary transporters acting in the efflux of the plant signal molecule auxin from cells. They are asymmetrically localized within cells and their polarity determines the directionality of intercellular auxin flow. PIN genes are found exclusively in the genomes of multicellular plants and play an important role in regulating asymmetric auxin distribution in multiple developmental processes, including embryogenesis, organogenesis, tissue differentiation and tropic responses. All PIN proteins have a similar structure with amino- and carboxy-terminal hydrophobic, membrane-spanning domains separated by a central hydrophilic domain. The structure of the hydrophobic domains is well conserved. The hydrophilic domain is more divergent and it determines eight groups within the protein family. The activity of PIN proteins is regulated at multiple levels, including transcription, protein stability, subcellular localization and transport activity. Different endogenous and environmental signals can modulate PIN activity and thus modulate auxin-distribution-dependent development. A large group of PIN proteins, including the most ancient members known from mosses, localize to the endoplasmic reticulum and they regulate the subcellular compartmentalization of auxin and thus auxin metabolism. Further work is needed to establish the physiological importance of this unexpected mode of auxin homeostasis regulation. Furthermore, the evolution of PIN-based transport, PIN protein structure and more detailed biochemical characterization of the transport function are important topics for further studies.

Auxin is a key coordinative signal required for many aspects of plant development and its levels are controlled by auxin metabolism and intercellular auxin transport. Here we find that a member of PIN auxin transporter family, PIN8 is expressed in male gametophyte of Arabidopsis thaliana and has a crucial role in pollen development and functionality. Ectopic expression in sporophytic tissues establishes a role of PIN8 in regulating auxin homoeostasis and metabolism. PIN8 co-localizes with PIN5 to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where it acts as an auxin transporter. Genetic analyses reveal an antagonistic action of PIN5 and PIN8 in the regulation of intracellular auxin homoeostasis and gametophyte as well as sporophyte development. Our results reveal a role of the auxin transport in male gametophyte development in which the distinct actions of ER-localized PIN transporters regulate cellular auxin homoeostasis and maintain the auxin levels optimal for pollen development and pollen tube growth.

Many aspects of plant development, including patterning and tropisms, are largely dependent on the asymmetric distribution of the plant signaling molecule auxin. Auxin transport inhibitors (ATIs), which interfere with directional auxin transport, have been essential tools in formulating this concept. However, despite the use of ATIs in plant research for many decades, the mechanism of ATI action has remained largely elusive. Using real-time live-cell microscopy, we show here that prominent ATIs such as 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA) and 2-(1-pyrenoyl) benzoic acid (PBA) inhibit vesicle trafficking in plant, yeast, and mammalian cells. Effects on micropinocytosis, rab5-labeled endosomal motility at the periphery of HeLa cells and on fibroblast mobility indicate that ATIs influence actin cytoskeleton. Visualization of actin cytoskeleton dynamics in plants, yeast, and mammalian cells show that ATIs stabilize actin. Conversely, stabilizing actin by chemical or genetic means interferes with endocytosis, vesicle motility, auxin transport, and plant development, including auxin transport-dependent processes. Our results show that a class of ATIs act as actin stabilizers and advocate that actin-dependent trafficking of auxin transport components participates in the mechanism of auxin transport. These studies also provide an example of how the common eukaryotic process of actin-based vesicle motility can fulfill a plant-specific physiological role.

Cell polarity manifested by asymmetric distribution of cargoes, such as receptors and transporters, within the plasma membrane (PM) is crucial for essential functions in multicellular organisms. In plants, cell polarity (re)establishment is intimately linked to patterning processes. Despite the importance of cell polarity, its underlying mechanisms are still largely unknown, including the definition and distinctiveness of the polar domains within the PM. Here, we show in Arabidopsis thaliana that the signaling membrane components, the phosphoinositides phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PtdIns4P) and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P₂] as well as PtdIns4P 5-kinases mediating their interconversion, are specifically enriched at apical and basal polar plasma membrane domains. The PtdIns4P 5-kinases PIP5K1 and PIP5K2 are redundantly required for polar localization of specifically apical and basal cargoes, such as PIN-FORMED transporters for the plant hormone auxin. As a consequence of the polarity defects, instructive auxin gradients as well as embryonic and postembryonic patterning are severely compromised. Furthermore, auxin itself regulates PIP5K transcription and PtdIns4P and PtdIns(4,5)P₂ levels, in particular their association with polar PM domains. Our results provide insight into the polar domain–delineating mechanisms in plant cells that depend on apical and basal distribution of membrane lipids and are essential for embryonic and postembryonic patterning.