Internalization and sorting of macromolecules are inherent properties of all eukaryotic cells that are achieved by vesicle trafficking. However, this process is relatively less understood in plants. An eight-subunit protein complex, BLOC-1, which is involved in endosomal transport from the endosomes to the lysosomes, has been identified in both human and mice. In this study, two homologous subunits of this complex, BLOS1 (or AtGCN5L1) and BLOS2, have been characterized in Arabidopsis. Both BLOS1 and BLOS2 interacted with SNX1 on the sorting endosomes. Inducible RNAi lines with reduced levels of BLOS1 had longer primary roots and more lateral roots. Consistently, PIN1 and PIN2 were increased in BLOS1 RNAi lines, implicating an impaired transport from the endosomes to the vacuoles. These results suggest that a putative BLOC-1 complex in Arabidopsis might mediate the vacuolar degradative transport through direct interaction with SNX1 to regulate the homeostasis of PIN1 and PIN2, which is important for plant growth and development.

Key words: Biogenesis of lysosome-related organelles complex 1 (BLOC-1), Sorting nexin 1 (SNX1), Auxin efflux transporter, Root growth, Endosomal transport, Vacuole