RST1 is a FREE1 suppressor that negatively regulates vacuolar trafficking in Arabidopsis

FYVE domain protein required for endosomal sorting1 (FREE1), a plant-specific endosomal sorting complex required for transport-I component, is essential for the biogenesis of multivesicular bodies (MVBs), vacuolar degradation of membrane protein, cargo vacuolar sorting, autophagic degradation, and vacuole biogenesis in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Here, we report the characterization of RESURRECTION1 (RST1) as a suppressor of free1 that, when mutated as a null mutant, restores the normal MVB and vacuole formation of a FREE1-RNAi knockdown line and consequently allows survival. RST1 encodes an evolutionarily conserved multicellular organism–specific protein, which contains two Domain of Unknown Function 3730 domains, showing no similarity to known proteins, and predominantly localizes in the cytosol. The depletion of FREE1 causes substantial accumulation of RST1, and transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing RST1 display retarded seedling growth with dilated MVBs, and inhibition of endocytosed FM4-64 dye to the tonoplast, suggesting that RST1 has a negative role in vacuolar transport. Consistently, enhanced endocytic degradation of membrane vacuolar cargoes occurs in the rst1 mutant. Further transcriptomic comparison of rst1 with free1 revealed a negative association between gene expression profiles, demonstrating that FREE1 and RST1 have antagonistic functions. Thus, RST1 is a negative regulator controlling membrane protein homeostasis and FREE1-mediated functions in plants.