ER and vacuoles: never been closer

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) represents the gateway for intracellular trafficking of membrane proteins, soluble cargoes and lipids. In all eukaryotes, the best described mechanism of exiting the ER is via COPII-coated vesicles, which transport both membrane proteins and soluble cargoes to the cis-Golgi. The vacuole, together with the plasma membrane, is the most distal point of the secretory pathway, and many vacuolar proteins are transported from the ER through intermediate compartments. However, past results and recent findings demonstrate the presence of alternative transport routes from the ER towards the tonoplast, which are independent of Golgi- and post-Golgi trafficking. Moreover, the transport mechanism of the vacuolar proton pumps VHA-a3 and AVP1 challenges the current model of vacuole biogenesis, pointing to the endoplasmic reticulum for being the main membrane source for the biogenesis of the plant lytic compartment. This review gives an overview of the current knowledge on the transport routes towards the vacuole and discusses the possible mechanism of vacuole biogenesis in plants.