Structural elucidation of how ARF small GTPases induce membrane tubulation for vesicle fission.

ABSTRACT: ADP-Ribosylation Factor (ARF) small GTPases have been found to act in vesicle fission through a direct ability to tubulate membrane. We have pursued cryoelectron microscopy (EM) to reveal at 3.9 Å resolution how ARF6 assembles into a protein lattice on tubulated membrane. Molecular dynamics simulation studies confirm and extend the cryo-EM findings. The ARF6 lattice exhibits features that are distinct from those formed by other membrane-bending proteins. We identify protein contacts critical for lattice assembly and how membrane insertion results in constricted tubules. The lattice structure also enables docking by GTPase-activating proteins (GAP) to achieve vesiculation. We have also modeled ARF1 onto the ARF6 lattice, and then pursued vesicle reconstitution by the Coat Protein I (COPI) c

SUBMITTER: Pang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11962421 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature