Cellular Localization of Small GTPases

Abstract

Rho of plants (ROPs) are membrane-associated proteins known to partition between submicroscopic domains of the plasma and endo membrane. ROPs are soluble proteins and their segregation to membrane is dictated by specific determinants that are so far poorly understood. However, studies have now shown that the post-translational modifications facilitate the partition of ROP GTPases within plasma membrane. Based on the type of lipid modifications supervened by ROPs, they are classified into two major subgroups. Type-I ROPs are known to undergo prenylation predominantly by geranylgeranyltransferase I (GGT-I), whereas Type-II ROPs are stabilized by S-acylation modification to facilitate their attachment to plasma membrane. This suggests that the nature of lipid modifications on proteins is necessary to determine their submicroscopic localization, membrane interaction dynamics, and cell signaling.