Phase transitions of a SEC14-like condensate at Arabidopsis plasma membranes regulate root growth

Protein function can be modulated by phase transitions in their material properties, which can range from liquid-to solid-like; yet the mechanisms that drive these transitions and whether they are important for physiology are still unknown. Using the model plant Arabidopsis, we show that developmental robustness is reinforced by phase transitions of the plasma membrane–bound lipid-binding protein SEC14-like. Using imaging, genetics, and in vitro reconstitution experiments, we show that SEC14-like undergoes liquid-like phase separation in the root stem cells. Outside the stem cell niche, SEC14-like associates with the caspase-like protease separase and conserved microtubule motors at unique polar plasma membrane interfaces. In these interfaces, SEC14-like undergoes abrupt processing by separase, which promotes its liquid-to-solid transition. The SEC14-like liquid-to-solid transition is important for root developmental robustness, as lines expressing an uncleavable SEC14-like variant or mutants of separase, and associated microtubule motors show similar developmental phenotypes. Furthermore, the processed and solidified but not the liquid form of SEC14-like interacts with the polar protein PINFORMED2 at the plasma membrane and perhaps other polar proteins of the PINFORMED family. This work demonstrates that robust development can involve abrupt liquid-to-solid transitions mediated by proteolysis at unique plasma membrane interfaces.