Getting attached to membranes-How plant signaling networks employ PtdIns(4,5)P2.

In eukaryotes, a small subset of membrane lipids, the phosphoinositides (PIs), exert regulatory effects on membrane-associated processes with profound impact on the organism, and PIs are relevant also for the physiology and development of plants. The PI, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P2) has emerged as an important regulatory player in plants, and in recent years this lipid has received substantial attention. This Update Review focuses on our current understanding of how PtdIns(4,5)P2 exerts its regulatory functions, how biosynthesis and degradation of this important regulatory lipid are controlled, and how PtdIns(4,5)P2 is linked to upstream and downstream elements within plant signalling networks.