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Membrane lipids are often viewed as passive building blocks of the endomembrane system. However, mounting evidence suggests that sphingolipids, sterols, and phospholipids are specifically targeted by developmental pathways, notably hormones, in a cell- or tissue-specific manner to regulate plant growth and development. Targeted modifications of lipid homeostasis may act as a way to execute a defined developmental program, for example, by regulating other signaling pathways or participating in cell differentiation. Furthermore, these regulations often feed back on the very signaling pathway that initiates the lipid metabolic changes. Here, we review several recent examples highlighting the intricate feedbacks between membrane lipid homeostasis and plant development. In particular, these examples illustrate how all aspects of membrane lipid metabolic pathways are targeted by these feedback regulations. We propose that the time has come to consider membrane lipids and lipid metabolism as an integral part of the developmental program needed to build a plant. Boutté and Jaillais present a Review discussing the importance of membrane lipids in regulating plant growth and development. They consider the intricate feedbacks between membrane lipid homeostasis and plant development and propose that membrane lipid metabolism is an integral component of the developmental program needed to build a plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane lipids are crucial bricks for cell and organelle compartmentalization and their physical properties and interactions with other membrane partners (lipids or proteins) reveal lipids as key actors of the regulation of membrane morphodynamics in many cellular functions and especially in the secretory/retrograde pathways. Studies on membrane models have indicated diverse mechanisms by which membranes bend. Moreover, in vivo studies also indicate that membrane curvature can play crucial roles in the regulation of endomembrane morphodynamics, organelle morphology and transport vesicle formation. A role for enzymes of lipid metabolism and lipid–protein interactions will be discussed as crucial mechanisms in the regulation of membrane morphodynamics in the secretory/retrograde pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sterols are lipophilic membrane components essential for diverse cellular functions. The plant sterol biosynthesis pathway has largely been defined by biochemical approaches. Sterol function has been investigated by the pharmacological and genetic manipulation of sterol biosynthesis. However, mechanisms by which sterols influence cellular processes and targets of sterol function remain largely unknown. During the last two years, new Arabidopsis sterol biosynthesis mutants have been characterized. Their analysis has revealed the contributions of known and alternative routes of sterol biosynthesis to various cellular processes. Subcellular localization and trafficking of a sterol-binding protein have been investigated and first steps towards in vivo characterization of sterol-enriched membrane domains have been taken. Finally, mechanistic insight into the role of plant sterols during endocytosis and the establishment of cell polarity has been obtained. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The establishment of cellular asymmetries and their coordination within the tissue layer are fundamental to the development of multicellular organisms. In plants, the induction and coordination of cell polarity have classically been attributed to involve the hormone auxin and its flow. However, the underlying mechanisms have only recently been addressed at the molecular level. We review progress on the characterisation of the auxin influx and efflux carrier properties of specific plasma membrane proteins, mechanisms underlying their delivery to and internalisation from the plasma membrane, their endocytic transport and degradation. We discuss mechanisms of auxin gradient, transport and response action during the coordination of polarity, along with the downstream involvement of Rho-of-plant small GTPases during the execution of cell polarity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract The plasma membrane (PM) is the biological membrane that separates the interior of all cells from the outside. The PM is constituted of a huge diversity of proteins and lipids. In this review, we will update the diversity of molecular species of lipids found in plant PM. We will further discuss how lipids govern global properties of the plant PM, explaining that plant lipids are unevenly distributed and are able to organize PM in domains. From that observation, it emerges a complex picture showing a spatial and multiscale segregation of PM components. Finally, we will discuss how lipids are key players in the function of PM in plants, with a particular focus on plant-microbe interaction, transport and hormone signaling, abiotic stress responses, plasmodesmata function. The last chapter is dedicated to the methods that the plant membrane biology community needs to develop to get a comprehensive understanding of membrane organization in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]