Toward a Comprehensive Map of the Effectors of Rab GTPases

Summary The Rab GTPases recruit peripheral membrane proteins to intracellular organelles. These Rab effectors typically mediate the motility of organelles and vesicles and contribute to the specificity of membrane traffic. However, for many Rabs, few, if any, effectors have been identified; hence, their role remains unclear. To identify Rab effectors, we used a comprehensive set of Drosophila Rabs for affinity chromatography followed by mass spectrometry to identify the proteins bound to each Rab. For many Rabs, this revealed specific interactions with Drosophila orthologs of known effectors. In addition, we found numerous Rab-specific interactions with known components of membrane traffic as well as with diverse proteins not previously linked to organelles or having no known function. We confirm over 25 interactions for Rab2, Rab4, Rab5, Rab6, Rab7, Rab9, Rab18, Rab19, Rab30, and Rab39. These include tethering complexes, coiled-coiled proteins, motor linkers, Rab regulators, and several proteins linked to human disease.
Graphical Abstract
Highlights • Proteomic screen identifies effectors of Drosophila Rabs with a human ortholog • Specific hits include orthologs of numerous known effectors of mammalian Rabs • Validated effectors include traffic proteins and those of unknown function • Orthologs of disease genes CLEC16A, LRRK2, and SPG20 are validated as effectors
Rab GTPases organize cellular compartments by recruiting specific effectors to organelle membranes. This paper describes affinity chromatography using all Drosophila Rabs with a mammalian ortholog. The Rab interactors found include known effectors, tethering complexes, coiled-coil proteins, motor proteins, proteins of unknown function, and several proteins linked to human disease.