The CORVET subunit Vps8 cooperates with the Rab5 homolog Vps21 to induce clustering of late endosomal compartments.

ABSTRACT: Membrane tethering, the process of mediating the first contact between membranes destined for fusion, requires specialized multisubunit protein complexes and Rab GTPases. In the yeast endolysosomal system, the hexameric HOPS tethering complex cooperates with the Rab7 homolog Ypt7 to promote homotypic fusion at the vacuole, whereas the recently identified homologous CORVET complex acts at the level of late endosomes. Here, we have further functionally characterized the CORVET-specific subunit Vps8 and its relationship to the remaining subunits using an in vivo approach that allows the monitoring of late endosome biogenesis. In particular, our results indicate that Vps8 interacts and cooperates with the activated Rab5 homolog Vps21 to induce the clustering of late endosomal membranes, indica

SUBMITTER: Markgraf DF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2793301 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature