CATCHR, HOPS and CORVET tethering complexes share a similar architecture

Area of Science:

• Cell biology
• Molecular biology
• Structural biology

Background:

• Multisubunit tethering complexes play crucial roles in intracellular trafficking.
• The Complexes Associated with Tethering Containing Helical Rods (CATCHR) family encompasses several such complexes.
• Understanding the structural basis of these complexes is key to deciphering their function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the subunit organization and structural architecture of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae GARP complex and the COG complex.
• To compare the structural features of the GARP and COG complexes with the HOPS complex.
• To determine if multisubunit tethering complexes share related structural frameworks.

Main Methods:

• Comparative structural analysis of protein complexes.
• Subunit organization analysis of GARP and COG complexes.
• Architectural comparison with the HOPS complex.

Main Results:

• The Saccharomyces cerevisiae GARP complex and the Cog1-4 subcomplex of the COG complex exhibit identical subunit organization.
• The HOPS complex, involved in the endolysosomal pathway, shares a similar structural architecture with GARP and COG complexes.
• These findings indicate a conserved structural framework across different multisubunit tethering complexes.

Conclusions:

• Multisubunit tethering complexes, including GARP, COG, and HOPS, utilize related structural frameworks.
• The shared architecture suggests a common evolutionary origin or functional constraints driving structural conservation.
• This conserved framework likely underpins the diverse roles of tethering complexes in cellular processes.