Abstract
SNAREs play an important role in the process of membrane trafficking. In the present research, we investigated subcellular localization of an uncharacterized Arabidopsis thaliana protein reported to interact with a trans-Golgi network-localized Qa-SNARE, SYNTAXIN OF PLANTS 43. Based on the similarity of its amino acid sequence to metazoan fucosyltransferases, we have named this novel protein AtGTLP (Arabidopsis thaliana GlycosylTransferase-Like Protein) and predicted that it should be a member of yet uncharacterized family of Arabidopsis fucosyltransferases, as it shows no significant sequence similarity to fucosyltransferases previously identified in Arabidopsis. AtGTLP is a membrane-anchored protein, which exhibits a type II-like topology, with a single transmembrane helix and a globular domain in the C-terminal part of its amino acid sequence. Colocalization data we collected suggest that AtGTLP should localize mainly to Golgi apparatus, especially to certain zones of trans-Golgi. As single atgtlp-/- mutants showed no obvious difference in phenotype (primary root length and fresh mass), AtGTLP and proteins related to AtGTLP with high similarity in amino acid sequences may have redundant functions.