Skip to main content
Molecular and Cellular Biology logoLink to Molecular and Cellular Biology
. 1994 Jan;14(1):744–758. doi: 10.1128/mcb.14.1.744

The effector domain of Rab6, plus a highly hydrophobic C terminus, is required for Golgi apparatus localization.

F Beranger 1, H Paterson 1, S Powers 1, J de Gunzburg 1, J F Hancock 1
PMCID: PMC358423  PMID: 8264642

Abstract

C-terminal lipid modifications are essential for the interaction of Ras-related proteins with membranes. While all Ras proteins are farnesylated and some palmitoylated, the majority of other Ras-related proteins are geranylgeranylated. One such protein, Rab6, is associated with the Golgi apparatus and has a C-terminal CXC motif that is geranylgeranylated on both cysteines. We show here that farnesylation alone cannot substitute for geranylgeranylation in targeting Rab6 to the Golgi apparatus and that whereas Ras proteins that are farnesylated and palmitoylated are targeted to the plasma membrane, mutant Rab proteins that are both farnesylated and palmitoylated associate with the Golgi apparatus. Using chimeric Ras-Rab proteins, we find that there are sequences in the N-terminal 71 amino acids of Rab6 which are required for Golgi complex localization and show that these sequences comprise or include the effector domain. The C-terminal hypervariable domain is not essential for the Golgi complex targeting of Rab6 but is required to prevent prenylated and palmitoylated Rab6 from localizing to the plasma membrane. Functional analysis of these mutant Rab6 proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae shows that wild-type Rab6 and C-terminal mutant Rab6 proteins which localize to the Golgi apparatus in mammalian cells can complement the temperature-sensitive phenotype of ypt6 null mutants. Interestingly, therefore, the C-terminal hypervariable domain of Rab6 is not required for this protein to function in S. cerevisiae.

Full text

PDF
756

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adamson P., Marshall C. J., Hall A., Tilbrook P. A. Post-translational modifications of p21rho proteins. J Biol Chem. 1992 Oct 5;267(28):20033–20038. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Adamson P., Paterson H. F., Hall A. Intracellular localization of the P21rho proteins. J Cell Biol. 1992 Nov;119(3):617–627. doi: 10.1083/jcb.119.3.617. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Araki S., Kikuchi A., Hata Y., Isomura M., Takai Y. Regulation of reversible binding of smg p25A, a ras p21-like GTP-binding protein, to synaptic plasma membranes and vesicles by its specific regulatory protein, GDP dissociation inhibitor. J Biol Chem. 1990 Aug 5;265(22):13007–13015. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Black S. D. Development of hydrophobicity parameters for prenylated proteins. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1992 Aug 14;186(3):1437–1442. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(05)81567-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bordier C. Phase separation of integral membrane proteins in Triton X-114 solution. J Biol Chem. 1981 Feb 25;256(4):1604–1607. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bourne H. R., Sanders D. A., McCormick F. The GTPase superfamily: a conserved switch for diverse cell functions. Nature. 1990 Nov 8;348(6297):125–132. doi: 10.1038/348125a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Bourne H. R., Sanders D. A., McCormick F. The GTPase superfamily: conserved structure and molecular mechanism. Nature. 1991 Jan 10;349(6305):117–127. doi: 10.1038/349117a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Bucci C., Parton R. G., Mather I. H., Stunnenberg H., Simons K., Hoflack B., Zerial M. The small GTPase rab5 functions as a regulatory factor in the early endocytic pathway. Cell. 1992 Sep 4;70(5):715–728. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90306-w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Béranger F., Goud B., Tavitian A., de Gunzburg J. Association of the Ras-antagonistic Rap1/Krev-1 proteins with the Golgi complex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Mar 1;88(5):1606–1610. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.5.1606. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Calés C., Hancock J. F., Marshall C. J., Hall A. The cytoplasmic protein GAP is implicated as the target for regulation by the ras gene product. Nature. 1988 Apr 7;332(6164):548–551. doi: 10.1038/332548a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Casey P. J., Solski P. A., Der C. J., Buss J. E. p21ras is modified by a farnesyl isoprenoid. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Nov;86(21):8323–8327. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.21.8323. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Casey P. J., Thissen J. A., Moomaw J. F. Enzymatic modification of proteins with a geranylgeranyl isoprenoid. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Oct 1;88(19):8631–8635. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.19.8631. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Chardin P. Small GTP-binding proteins of the ras family: a conserved functional mechanism? Cancer Cells. 1991 Apr;3(4):117–126. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Chavrier P., Gorvel J. P., Stelzer E., Simons K., Gruenberg J., Zerial M. Hypervariable C-terminal domain of rab proteins acts as a targeting signal. Nature. 1991 Oct 24;353(6346):769–772. doi: 10.1038/353769a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Chu G., Hayakawa H., Berg P. Electroporation for the efficient transfection of mammalian cells with DNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Feb 11;15(3):1311–1326. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.3.1311. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Clarke S., Vogel J. P., Deschenes R. J., Stock J. Posttranslational modification of the Ha-ras oncogene protein: evidence for a third class of protein carboxyl methyltransferases. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Jul;85(13):4643–4647. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.13.4643. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Cox A. D., Hisaka M. M., Buss J. E., Der C. J. Specific isoprenoid modification is required for function of normal, but not oncogenic, Ras protein. Mol Cell Biol. 1992 Jun;12(6):2606–2615. doi: 10.1128/mcb.12.6.2606. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Farnsworth C. C., Kawata M., Yoshida Y., Takai Y., Gelb M. H., Glomset J. A. C terminus of the small GTP-binding protein smg p25A contains two geranylgeranylated cysteine residues and a methyl ester. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Jul 15;88(14):6196–6200. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.14.6196. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Fujiyama A., Tamanoi F. RAS2 protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae undergoes removal of methionine at N terminus and removal of three amino acids at C terminus. J Biol Chem. 1990 Feb 25;265(6):3362–3368. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Gorvel J. P., Chavrier P., Zerial M., Gruenberg J. rab5 controls early endosome fusion in vitro. Cell. 1991 Mar 8;64(5):915–925. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90316-q. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Goud B., Zahraoui A., Tavitian A., Saraste J. Small GTP-binding protein associated with Golgi cisternae. Nature. 1990 Jun 7;345(6275):553–556. doi: 10.1038/345553a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Gutierrez L., Magee A. I., Marshall C. J., Hancock J. F. Post-translational processing of p21ras is two-step and involves carboxyl-methylation and carboxy-terminal proteolysis. EMBO J. 1989 Apr;8(4):1093–1098. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03478.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Hall A. The cellular functions of small GTP-binding proteins. Science. 1990 Aug 10;249(4969):635–640. doi: 10.1126/science.2116664. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Hancock J. F., Cadwallader K., Marshall C. J. Methylation and proteolysis are essential for efficient membrane binding of prenylated p21K-ras(B). EMBO J. 1991 Mar;10(3):641–646. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb07992.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Hancock J. F., Cadwallader K., Paterson H., Marshall C. J. A CAAX or a CAAL motif and a second signal are sufficient for plasma membrane targeting of ras proteins. EMBO J. 1991 Dec;10(13):4033–4039. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb04979.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Hancock J. F., Hall A. A novel role for RhoGDI as an inhibitor of GAP proteins. EMBO J. 1993 May;12(5):1915–1921. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1993.tb05840.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Hancock J. F., Magee A. I., Childs J. E., Marshall C. J. All ras proteins are polyisoprenylated but only some are palmitoylated. Cell. 1989 Jun 30;57(7):1167–1177. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90054-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Hancock J. F., Paterson H., Marshall C. J. A polybasic domain or palmitoylation is required in addition to the CAAX motif to localize p21ras to the plasma membrane. Cell. 1990 Oct 5;63(1):133–139. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90294-o. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Horiuchi H., Kawata M., Katayama M., Yoshida Y., Musha T., Ando S., Takai Y. A novel prenyltransferase for a small GTP-binding protein having a C-terminal Cys-Ala-Cys structure. J Biol Chem. 1991 Sep 15;266(26):16981–16984. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Hrycyna C. A., Clarke S. Maturation of isoprenylated proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Multiple activities catalyze the cleavage of the three carboxyl-terminal amino acids from farnesylated substrates in vitro. J Biol Chem. 1992 May 25;267(15):10457–10464. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Huang D. C., Marshall C. J., Hancock J. F. Plasma membrane-targeted ras GTPase-activating protein is a potent suppressor of p21ras function. Mol Cell Biol. 1993 Apr;13(4):2420–2431. doi: 10.1128/mcb.13.4.2420. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Khosravi-Far R., Clark G. J., Abe K., Cox A. D., McLain T., Lutz R. J., Sinensky M., Der C. J. Ras (CXXX) and Rab (CC/CXC) prenylation signal sequences are unique and functionally distinct. J Biol Chem. 1992 Dec 5;267(34):24363–24368. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Khosravi-Far R., Lutz R. J., Cox A. D., Conroy L., Bourne J. R., Sinensky M., Balch W. E., Buss J. E., Der C. J. Isoprenoid modification of rab proteins terminating in CC or CXC motifs. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Jul 15;88(14):6264–6268. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.14.6264. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Kinsella B. T., Erdman R. A., Maltese W. A. Carboxyl-terminal isoprenylation of ras-related GTP-binding proteins encoded by rac1, rac2, and ralA. J Biol Chem. 1991 May 25;266(15):9786–9794. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Kinsella B. T., Maltese W. A. rab GTP-binding proteins implicated in vesicular transport are isoprenylated in vitro at cysteines within a novel carboxyl-terminal motif. J Biol Chem. 1991 May 5;266(13):8540–8544. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Klausner R. D., Donaldson J. G., Lippincott-Schwartz J. Brefeldin A: insights into the control of membrane traffic and organelle structure. J Cell Biol. 1992 Mar;116(5):1071–1080. doi: 10.1083/jcb.116.5.1071. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Magee A. I., Gutierrez L., McKay I. A., Marshall C. J., Hall A. Dynamic fatty acylation of p21N-ras. EMBO J. 1987 Nov;6(11):3353–3357. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02656.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Molenaar C. M., Prange R., Gallwitz D. A carboxyl-terminal cysteine residue is required for palmitic acid binding and biological activity of the ras-related yeast YPT1 protein. EMBO J. 1988 Apr;7(4):971–976. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1988.tb02903.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Moores S. L., Schaber M. D., Mosser S. D., Rands E., O'Hara M. B., Garsky V. M., Marshall M. S., Pompliano D. L., Gibbs J. B. Sequence dependence of protein isoprenylation. J Biol Chem. 1991 Aug 5;266(22):14603–14610. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Newman C. M., Giannakouros T., Hancock J. F., Fawell E. H., Armstrong J., Magee A. I. Post-translational processing of Schizosaccharomyces pombe YPT proteins. J Biol Chem. 1992 Jun 5;267(16):11329–11336. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Ridley A. J., Hall A. The small GTP-binding protein rho regulates the assembly of focal adhesions and actin stress fibers in response to growth factors. Cell. 1992 Aug 7;70(3):389–399. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90163-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Seabra M. C., Brown M. S., Slaughter C. A., Südhof T. C., Goldstein J. L. Purification of component A of Rab geranylgeranyl transferase: possible identity with the choroideremia gene product. Cell. 1992 Sep 18;70(6):1049–1057. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90253-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Seabra M. C., Goldstein J. L., Südhof T. C., Brown M. S. Rab geranylgeranyl transferase. A multisubunit enzyme that prenylates GTP-binding proteins terminating in Cys-X-Cys or Cys-Cys. J Biol Chem. 1992 Jul 15;267(20):14497–14503. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Seabra M. C., Reiss Y., Casey P. J., Brown M. S., Goldstein J. L. Protein farnesyltransferase and geranylgeranyltransferase share a common alpha subunit. Cell. 1991 May 3;65(3):429–434. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90460-g. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Strom M., Vollmer P., Tan T. J., Gallwitz D. A yeast GTPase-activating protein that interacts specifically with a member of the Ypt/Rab family. Nature. 1993 Feb 25;361(6414):736–739. doi: 10.1038/361736a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Walworth N. C., Goud B., Kabcenell A. K., Novick P. J. Mutational analysis of SEC4 suggests a cyclical mechanism for the regulation of vesicular traffic. EMBO J. 1989 Jun;8(6):1685–1693. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03560.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Wei C., Lutz R., Sinensky M., Macara I. G. p23rab2, a ras-like GTPase with a -GGGCC C-terminus, is isoprenylated but not detectably carboxymethylated in NIH3T3 cells. Oncogene. 1992 Mar;7(3):467–473. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Willumsen B. M., Christensen A., Hubbert N. L., Papageorge A. G., Lowy D. R. The p21 ras C-terminus is required for transformation and membrane association. Nature. 1984 Aug 16;310(5978):583–586. doi: 10.1038/310583a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Zahraoui A., Touchot N., Chardin P., Tavitian A. The human Rab genes encode a family of GTP-binding proteins related to yeast YPT1 and SEC4 products involved in secretion. J Biol Chem. 1989 Jul 25;264(21):12394–12401. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. van der Sluijs P., Hull M., Webster P., Mâle P., Goud B., Mellman I. The small GTP-binding protein rab4 controls an early sorting event on the endocytic pathway. Cell. 1992 Sep 4;70(5):729–740. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90307-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Molecular and Cellular Biology are provided here courtesy of Taylor & Francis

RESOURCES