Molecular machinery required for protein transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex

Abstract

The cellular machinery responsible for conveying proteins between the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi is being investigated using genetics and biochemistry. A role for vesicles in mediating protein traffic between the ER and the Golgi has been established by characterizing yeast mutants defective in this process, and by using recently developed cell-free assays that measure ER to Golgi transport. These tools have also allowed the identification of several proteins crucial to intracellular protein trafficking. The characterization and possible functions of several GTP-binding proteins, peripheral membrane proteins, and an integral membrane protein during ER to Golgi transport are discussed here.