ER Cargo Properties Specify a Requirement for COPII Coat Rigidity Mediated by Sec13p

Abstract

A Fair COP During eukaryotic intracellular membrane traffic, how is membrane curvature imparted by the cytoplasmic proteins that form the COPII coat, which mediates vesicle budding from the endoplasmic reticulum? Čopič et al. (p. 1359 , published online 2 February; see the Perspective by Silvius ) dissected this process by exploiting yeast bypass-of-sec-thirteen ( bst ) mutants, which can survive without the otherwise essential COPII coat protein. These bst mutants appear to create a locally altered membrane that is more amenable to deformation by a Sec13-free coat.