Membrane remodeling for protein degradation in plants

Cells rely on multiple degradative pathways to maintain protein and organelle homeostasis. Two of these pathways, the endosomal and the autophagy routes, require extensive membrane remodeling and vesicular trafficking to sort and deliver proteins and cellular components for degradation inside vacuoles. Whereas the molecular machinery in both pathways in largely conserved in all eukaryotes, plants have also evolved unique components accordingly to their particular cellular needs. I will discuss how ESCRT (Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport) proteins mediates endosomal membrane remodeling during protein sorting in plants and a novel plant receptor that mediates the autophagic degradation of the endoplasmic reticulum under stress conditions.