Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

'Coatomer': a cytosolic protein complex containing subunits of non-clathrin-coated Golgi transport vesicles

Abstract

GOLGI-derived coated vesicles contain a set of coat proteins of relative molecular mass 160,000 (Mr 160K; α-COP), 110K (β-COP), 98K (γ-COP) and 61K (δ-COP), and several smaller subunits1. We have now identified and purified a cytosolic complex containing the same four coat proteins as those of Golgi transport vesicles. We term this complex the Golgi coat promoter or 'coatomer'. The coatomer also contains polypeptides of Mr 36K, 35K and 20K. It represents about 0.2% of soluble cytosolic protein. Gel filtration of unfractionated cytosol indicates that β-COP resides exclusively in the coatomer complex. The complex seems to be a likely candidate for the unassembled precursor of Golgi coated vesicles, and its purification should help investigations of the role of coat proteins in membrane budding, for which it is necessary to use a refined cell-free system.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Serafini, T. et al. Nature 349, 215–220 (1991).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Malhotra, V., Serafini, T., Orci, L. Shephard, J. C. & Rothman, J. E. Cell 58, 329–336 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Allan, V. J. & Kreis, T. E. J. Cell Biol. 103, 2229–2239 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Siegel, L. M. & Monty, K. J. Biochim. biophys. Acta 112, 346–362 (1966).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Clary, D. O. & Rothman, J. E. J. biol. Chem. 265, 10109–10117 (1990).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Goud, B., Huet, C. & Louvard, D. J. Cell Biol. 100, 521–527 (1985).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kaiser, C. A. & Schekman, R. Cell 61, 723–733 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Fujiwara, T., Oda, K., Yokota, S., Takatsuki, A. & Ikehara, Y. J. biol. Chem. 263, 18545–18552 (1988).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Doms, R. W., Russ, G. & Yewdell, J. W. J. Cell Biol. 109, 61–72 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Lippincott-Schwartz, J., Yuan, L. C., Bonifacino, J. S. & Klausner, R. D. Cell 56, 801–813 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Donaldson, J. G., Lippincott-Schwartz, J., Bloom, G. S., Kreis, T. E. & Klausner, R. D. J. Cell Biol. 111, 2295–2306 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Morris, S. A., Ahle, S. & Ungewickell, E. Curr. Op. Cell Biol. 1, 684–690 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Keen, J. H. A. Rev. Biochem. 59, 415–438 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Laemmli, U. K. Nature 227, 680–685 (1970).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Towbin, H., Staehlin, T. & Gordon, J. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A 76, 4350–4354 (1979).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Waters, M., Serafini, T. & Rothman, J. 'Coatomer': a cytosolic protein complex containing subunits of non-clathrin-coated Golgi transport vesicles. Nature 349, 248–251 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/349248a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/349248a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing