Arabidopsis TETRASPANIN8 mediates exosome secretion and glycosyl inositol phosphoceramide sorting and trafficking

Sphingolipids are components of plant membranes, and their heterogeneous distribution gives different membrane systems distinct properties. For example, glycosyl inositol phosphoceramides (GIPCs), 1 major type of sphingolipids, aggregate in the outer layer of the plasma membrane (PM), as well as in extracellular vesicles (EVs), including the small (30 to 100 nm) EVs termed exosomes. How these sphingolipids are sorted and trafficked is not clear. In this work, we report that Arabidopsis thaliana TETRASPANIN8 (TET8) acts as a sphingolipid carrier and thus regulates the export of GIPCs from the Golgi apparatus. TET8 recognized the coat protein complex I (COPI) subunit γ2-COPI and moved to its proper location in the PM; this recognition required the TET8 C-terminal tail. Deleting the C-terminal tail of TET8 largely restricted its roles in GIPC transport and endosomal trafficking. Further, we show that TET8 affects EV secretion in association with GIPCs. Thus, our findings shed light on GIPC transport and the molecular machinery involved in EV biogenesis.