The Arabidopsis genome. An abundance of soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor adaptor protein receptors.

Many factors have been characterized as essential for vesicle trafficking, including a number of proteins commonly referred to as soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor adaptor protein receptor (SNARE) components. The Arabidopsis genome contains a remarkable number of SNAREs. In general, the vesicle fusion machinery appears highly conserved. However, whereas some classes of yeast and mammalian genes appear to be lacking in Arabidopsis, this small plant genome has gene families not found in other eukaryotes. Very little is known about the precise function of plant SNAREs. By contrast, the intracellular localization of and interactions between a large number of plant SNAREs have been determined, and these data are discussed in light of the phylogenetic analysis.