Signal-Mediated Dynamic Retention of Glycosyltransferases in the Golgi

Golgi-resident glycosyltransferases are a family of enzymes that sequentially modify glycoproteins in a subcompartment-specific manner. These type II integral membrane proteins are characterized by a short cytoplasmically exposed amino-terminal tail and a luminal enzymatic domain. The cytoplasmic tails play a role in the localization of glycosyltransferases, and coat protein complex I (COPI) vesicle-mediated retrograde transport is also involved in their Golgi localization. However, the tails of these enzymes lack known COPI-binding motifs. Here, we found that Vps74p bound to a pentameric motif present in the cytoplasmic tails of the majority of yeast Golgi-localized glycosyltransferases, as well as to COPI. We propose that Vps74p maintains the steady-state localization of Golgi glycosyltransferases dynamically, by promoting their incorporation into COPI-coated vesicles.