Plant phosphoinositides-complex networks controlling growth and adaptation

Plants differ in many ways from mammals or yeast. However, plants employ phosphoinositides for the regulation of essential cellular functions as do all other eukaryotes. In recent years the plant phosphoinositide system has been linked to the control of cell polarity. Phosphoinositides are also implicated in plant adaptive responses to changing environmental conditions. The current understanding is that plant phosphoinositides control membrane trafficking, ion channels and the cytoskeleton in similar ways as in other eukaryotic systems, but adapted to meet plant cellular requirements and with some plant-specific features. In addition, the formation of soluble inositol polyphosphates from phosphoinositides is important for the perception of important phytohormones, as the relevant receptor proteins contain such molecules as structural cofactors. Overall, the essential nature of phosphoinositides in plants has been established. Still, the complexity of the phosphoinositide networks in plant cells is only emerging and invites further study of its molecular details. This article is part of a special issue entitled Phosphoinositides.