Protein Targeting to the Vacuole in Plant Cells

The vacuole in plant cells plays various roles that are important in the maintenance of cell organization and function, yet the vacuolar function varies greatly depending on the type of cell and on the stage of plant development. The regulation of deposition of various proteins with specific functions in the vacuole is a prerequisite for the expression and maintenance of vacuolar functions. Transport of proteins from the site of synthesis to the site of deposition is generally mediated by topogenic information in the passenger protein and the cellular apparatus that recognizes it. Recent identification of some of the determinants that affect transport and sorting of proteins to the vacuole opened a new pathway to reveal how protein targeting to the vacuole can be regulated.