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Sec15 interacts with Rab11 via a novel domain and affects Rab11 localization in vivo

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 12, pages 879–885 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Sec15, a component of the exocyst, recognizes vesicle-associated Rab GTPases, helps target transport vesicles to the budding sites in yeast and is thought to recruit other exocyst proteins. Here we report the characterization of a 35-kDa fragment that comprises most of the C-terminal half of Drosophila melanogaster Sec15. This C-terminal domain was found to bind a subset of Rab GTPases, especially Rab11, in a GTP-dependent manner. We also provide evidence that in fly photoreceptors Sec15 colocalizes with Rab11 and that loss of Sec15 affects rhabdomere morphology. Determination of the 2.5-Å crystal structure of the C-terminal domain revealed a novel fold consisting of ten α-helices equally distributed between two subdomains (N and C subdomains). We show that the C subdomain, mainly via a single helix, is sufficient for Rab binding.

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Figure 1: Results of in vitro binding assays to test the interactions of the Drosophila Sec15 C-terminal domain with Rab GTPases.
Figure 2: Rab11 is upregulated in sec15-mutant tissue and colocalizes with Sec15.
Figure 3: sec15-mutant photoreceptors have a defect in a Rab11-dependent process.
Figure 4: Crystal structure of the Sec15 C-terminal domain and mapping of Rab11 binding sites by mutagenesis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the staff at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory beamline 8.2.1 for their help with the X-ray data collection. We thank J. He and J.L. Fallon for their technical assistance and R. Cohen (University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA) for the Rab11 antibody, Rab11-GFP line and Rab11 mutants. S.W. was supported in part by a training fellowship from the W.M. Keck Foundation to the Gulf Coast Consortia through the Keck Center for Computational and Structural Biology and by a grant from the Welch Foundation (Q-0581) to F.A.Q. S.Q.M. was supported by the US National Institutes of Health grant EY07001 and is a member of the Medical Scientist Training Program. A significant part of the work in the laboratories of F.A.Q. and H.J.B. was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Work in F.P.'s laboratory was supported by the Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Shuya Wu & Florante A Quiocho

  2. Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Sunil Q Mehta & Hugo J Bellen

  3. Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, Medical Research Council, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Franck Pichaud

  4. Departments of Molecular Human Genetics and of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Hugo J Bellen

  5. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Hugo J Bellen

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Correspondence to Florante A Quiocho.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Fig. 1

Sequence alignment of the predicted Sec15 domain (PDF 347 kb)

Supplementary Fig. 2

Electrostatic surface properties of the C-terminal domain and an unusual interaction of Arg572. (PDF 593 kb)

Supplementary Fig. 3

Model of the interaction between the C-subdomain and Rab11. (PDF 151 kb)

Supplementary Table 1

Interaction of the C-subdomain mutants with Rab11 (PDF 85 kb)

Supplementary Methods (PDF 132 kb)

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Wu, S., Mehta, S., Pichaud, F. et al. Sec15 interacts with Rab11 via a novel domain and affects Rab11 localization in vivo. Nat Struct Mol Biol 12, 879–885 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb987

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