Cex1 is a component of the COPI intracellular trafficking machinery

COPI (coatomer complex I) coated vesicles are involved in Golgi-to-ER and intra-Golgi trafficking pathways, and mediate retrieval of ER resident proteins. Functions and components of the COPI-mediated trafficking pathways, beyond the canonical set of Sec/Arf proteins, are constantly increasing in number and complexity. In mammalian cells, GORAB, SCYL1 and SCYL3 proteins regulate Golgi morphology and protein glycosylation in concert with the COPI machinery. Here, we show that Cex1, homologous to themammalian SCYL proteins, is a component of the yeast COPI machinery, by interacting with Sec27, Sec28 and Sec33 (Ret1/Cop1) proteins of the COPI coat. Cex1 was initially reported to mediate channeling of aminoacylated tRNA outside of the nucleus. Our data show that Cex1 localizes at membrane compartments, on structures positive for the Sec33 alpha-COP subunit. Moreover, the Wbp1 protein required for N-glycosylation and interacting via its di-lysine motif with the Sec27 beta'-COP subunit ismis-targeted in cex1 Delta deletionmutant cells. Our data point to the possibility of developing Cex1 yeast-based models to study neurodegenerative disorders linked to pathogenic mutations of its human homologue SCYL1.

Automated summary

COPI-coated vesicles are involved in Golgi-to-ER and intra-Golgi trafficking pathways, mediating retrieval of ER resident proteins. In mammalian cells, proteins like GORAB, SCYL1, and SCYL3 regulate Golgi morphology and protein glycosylation in conjunction with the COPI machinery. The yeast protein Cex1, homologous to mammalian SCYL proteins, is a component of the COPI machinery and can potentially be used to study neurodegenerative disorders.