Sortin1, a chemical genetic-hit compound, specifically induces mislocalization of both soluble and membrane-associated vacuolar markers in plants and yeast.This compound is unstable in powder form and other related salt forms are recommended.

Sortin1 was found to redirect the vacuolar destination of plant carboxypeptidase Y and other proteins in Arabidopsis suspension cells and cause these proteins to be secreted. In Arabidopsis seedlings, the application of Sortin1 and -2 led to reversible defects in vacuole biogenesis and root development. Sortin1 treatment of whole Arabidopsis seedlings also resulted in carboxypeptidase Y secretion, indicating that the drug has a similar mode of action in cells and intact plants. Structure-activity relationship studies conducted in Arabidopsis revealed the structural requirements for Sortin1 bioactivity and demonstrated that overlapping Sortin1 substructures can be used to discriminate between vacuolar-flavonoid accumulations and vacuolar-biogenesis defects [1][2].