SNARE (soluble N-ethyl maleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) mediates membrane fusion for vesicle transport in eukaryotic cells. LjSYP132 is a member of the Qa-SNAREs in Lotus japonicus, from which two isoforms, LjSYP132a and LjSYP132b, are generated by alternative splicing. In this issue, Sogawa et al. (on pp. 1750–1759) report on the functions of these splice variants. They showed that both variants are expressed during early stages of Mesorhizobium loti infection and that LjSYP132s (mainly LjSYP132a) accumulate in newly synthesized plasma membranes (PM), including the peribacteroid membrane. RNAi silencing led to the elongation failure of infection threads in both RNAi-LjSYP132a and RNAi-LjSYP132b roots. In addition, RNAi-LjSYP132b lines also exhibited abnormal pollen tube tip growth and produced small pods containing few seeds. Collectively, these data suggest that LjSYP132s are required for nodulation in Lotus, while LjSYP132b might have an additional role in pollen tube growth as well as in nutrient transport to the PM of seeds.