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Self‐Organization of Transitional ER Sites
Author(s) -
Glick Benjamin,
Liu Yang,
Bharucha Nike,
Montegna Elisabeth,
Bhattacharyya Dibyendu
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.355.2
Subject(s) - copii , biogenesis , budding yeast , microbiology and biotechnology , regulator , yeast , pichia pastoris , vesicle , biology , chemistry , saccharomyces cerevisiae , secretory pathway , membrane , genetics , golgi apparatus , endoplasmic reticulum , recombinant dna , gene
We are studying the biogenesis and dynamics of transitional ER (tER) sites using the budding yeast Pichia pastoris . Previously, we showed that P. pastoris tER sites are long‐lived structures that form de novo , fuse upon collision, and grow or shrink to attain a steady‐state size. This behavior can be explained by a self‐organization model. Specifically, we postulate that capture of new tER components is balanced by shrinkage driven by the budding of COPII coated transport vesicles. To test this model, we used a genetic screen to identify Sec16 as a key player in tER organization. Sec16 is a large peripheral ER membrane protein that interacts with multiple COPII components. Our results suggest that Sec16 acts as a negative regulator of ER export. According to this view, Sec16 functions primarily to control tER dynamics rather than to nucleate tER site formation. Sec16 defines a new level of regulation for the ER export system.