Membrane Yeast Two-Hybrid (MYTH) Mapping of Full-Length Membrane Protein Interactions

Mapping of protein interaction networks is a major strategy for obtaining a global understanding of protein function in cells and represents one of the primary goals of proteomics research. Membrane proteins, which play key roles in human disease and as drug targets, are of considerable interest; however, because of their hydrophobic nature, mapping their interactions presents significant technical challenges and requires the use of special methodological approaches. One powerful approach is the membrane yeast two-hybrid (MYTH) assay, a split-ubiquitin-based system specifically suited to the study of full-length membrane protein interactions in vivo using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a host. The system can be used in both low- and high-throughput formats to study proteins from a wide range of different organisms. There are two primary variants of MYTH: integrated (iMYTH), which involves endogenous expression and tagging of baits and is suitable for studying native yeast membrane proteins, and traditional (tMYTH), which involves ectopic plasmid-based expression of tagged baits and is suitable for studying membrane proteins from other organisms. Here we provide an introduction to the MYTH assay, including both the iMYTH and tMYTH variants. MYTH can be set up in almost any laboratory environment, with results typically obtainable within 4 to 6 wk.