Annexins are an evolutionary conserved superfamily of proteins able to bind membrane phospholipids in a calcium-dependent manner. Their physiological roles are still being intensively examined and it seems that, despite their general structural similarity, individual proteins are specialized toward specific functions. However, due to their general ability to coordinate membranes in a calcium-sensitive fashion they are thought to participate in membrane flow. In this review, we present a summary of the current understanding of cellular transport in plant cells and consider the possible roles of annexins in different stages of vesicular transport.
Keywords: Rab protein; SNARE; annexin; membrane trafficking; stress response; vesicular transport.