Dynamin and clathrin are required for the biogenesis of a distinct class of secretory vesicles in yeast

Yeast produce two classes of secretory vesicles (SVs) that differ in both density and cargo protein content. In late-acting secretory mutants (e.g. snc1(ala43) and sec6-4), both low- (LDSV) and high-density (HDSV) classes of vesicles accumulate at restrictive temperatures. Here, we have found that disruptions in the genes encoding a dynamin-related protein (VPS1) or clathrin heavy chain (CHC1) abolish HDSV production, yielding LDSVs that contain all secreted cargos. Interestingly, disruption of the PEP12 gene, which encodes the t-SNARE that mediates all Golgi to prevacuolar compartment (PVC) transport, also abolishes HDSV production. In contrast, deletions in genes that selectively confer vacuolar hydrolase sorting to the PVC or protein transport to the vacuole (i.e. VPS34 and VAM3, respectively) have no effect. Thus, one branch of the secretory pathway in yeast involves an intermediate sorting compartment and has a specific requirement for clathrin and a dynamin-related protein in SV biogenesis.