Efficient cargo sorting by ESCRT-I and the subsequent release of ESCRT-I from multivesicular bodies requires the subunit Mvb12

The endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT)-I protein complex functions in recognition and sorting of ubiquitinated transmembrane proteins into multivesicular body (MVB) vesicles. It has been shown that ESCRT-I contains the vacuolar protein sorting (Vps) proteins Vps23, Vps28, and Vps37. We identified an additional subunit of yeast ESCRT-I called Mvb12, which seems to associate with ESCRT-I by binding to Vps37. Transient recruitment of ESCRT-I to MVBs results in the rapid degradation of Mvb12. In contrast to mutations in other ESCRT-I subunits, which result in strong defects in MVB cargo sorting, deletion of MVB12 resulted in only a partial sorting phenotype. This trafficking defect was fully suppressed by overexpression of the ESCRT-II complex. Mutations in MVB12 did not affect recruitment of ESCRT-I to MVBs, but they did result in delivery of ESCRT-I to the vacuolar lumen via the MVB pathway. Together, these observations suggest that Mvb12 may function in regulating the interactions of ESCRT-I with cargo and other proteins of the ESCRT machinery to efficiently coordinate cargo sorting and release of ESCRT-I from the MVB.