There is growing evidence for a coupling of actin assembly and myosin motor activity in cells. However, mechanisms for recruitment of actin nucleators and motors on specific membrane compartments remain unclear. Here we report how Spir actin nucleators and myosin V motors coordinate their specific membrane recruitment. The myosin V globular tail domain (MyoV-GTD) interacts directly with an evolutionarily conserved Spir sequence motif. We determined crystal structures of MyoVa-GTD bound either to the Spir-2 motif or to Rab11 and show that a Spir-2:MyoVa:Rab11 complex can form. The ternary complex architecture explains how Rab11 vesicles support coordinated F-actin nucleation and myosin force generation for vesicle transport and tethering. New insights are also provided into how myosin activation can be coupled with the generation of actin tracks. Since MyoV binds several Rab GTPases, synchronized nucleator and motor targeting could provide a common mechanism to control force generation and motility in different cellular processes.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.17523.001

Background:The Spir⅐formin actin nucleator complex organizes actin structures at vesicle membranes. Results: The Spir FYVE-type domain binds nonspecifically to negatively charged membranes and to the N-terminal KIND domain (in cis). Conclusion: Conformational states of Spir restrict recruitment of formin to the membrane surface. Significance: Studying the vesicle targeting mechanisms of actin nucleators is essential for our understanding of intracellular membrane trafficking.

Exocytic transport of transmembrane receptors and secreted ligands provides the basis for cellular communication in animals. The RAB8/RAB3/RAB27 trafficking regulators function in transport processes towards the cell membrane. The small G-proteins recruit a diversity of effectors that mediate transport along microtubule and actin tracks, as well as membrane tethering and fusion. SPIRE actin nucleators organise local actin networks at exocytic vesicle membranes. By complex formation with class-5 myosins, vesicle transport track generation and motor protein activation are coordinated. Our phylogenetic analysis traced the onset of SPIRE function back to the origin of the Holozoa. We have identified SPIRE in the closest unicellular relatives of animals, the choanoflagellates, and the more distantly related ichthyosporeans. The discovery of a SPIRE-like protein encoding a KIND and tandem-WH2 domains in the amoebozoan Physarum polycephalum suggests that the SPIRE-type actin nucleation mechanism originated even earlier. Choanoflagellate SPIRE interacts with RAB8, the sole choanoflagellate representative of the metazoan RAB8/RAB3/RAB27 family. Major interactions including MYO5, FMN-subgroup formins and vesicle membranes are conserved between the choanoflagellate and mammalian SPIRE proteins and the choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis SPIRE protein can rescue mouse SPIRE1/2 function in melanosome transport. Genome duplications generated two mammalian SPIRE genes (SPIRE1 and SPIRE2) and allowed for the separation of SPIRE protein function in terms of tissue expression and RAB GTPase binding. SPIRE1 is highest expressed in the nervous system and interacts with RAB27 and RAB8. SPIRE2 shows high expression in the digestive tract and specifically interacts with RAB8. We propose that at the dawn of the animal kingdom a new transport mechanism came into existence, which bridges microtubule tracks, detached vesicles and the cellular actin cytoskeleton by organising actin/myosin forces directly at exocytic vesicle membranes.The new degree of freedom in transport may reflect the increased demands of the sophisticated cellular communications in animals.

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statement: The mitochondrial SPIRE1 protein targets myosin 5 motor proteins and formin actin-filament nucleators/elongators towards mitochondria and negatively regulates mitochondrial motility. AbstractSubcellular localisation of mitochondria provides a spatial and temporal organisation for cellular energy demands. Long-range mitochondrial transport is mediated by microtubule tracks and associated dynein and kinesin motor proteins. The actin cytoskeleton has a more versatile role and provides transport, tethering, and anchoring functions. SPIRE actin nucleators organise actin filament networks at vesicle membranes, which serve as tracks for myosin 5 motor protein-driven transport processes. Following alternative splicing, SPIRE1 is targeted to mitochondria. In analogy to vesicular SPIRE functions, we have analysed whether SPIRE1 regulates mitochondrial motility. By tracking mitochondria of living fibroblast cells from SPIRE1 mutant mice and splice-variant specific mitochondrial SPIRE1 knockout mice, we determined that the loss of SPIRE1 function increased mitochondrial motility. The SPIRE1 mutant phenotype was reversed by transient overexpression of mitochondrial SPIRE1, which almost completely inhibited motility. Conserved myosin 5 and formin interaction motifs contributed to this inhibition. Consistently, mitochondrial SPIRE1 targeted myosin 5 motors and formin actin filament generators to mitochondria. Our results indicate that SPIRE1 organises an actin/myosin network at mitochondria, which opposes mitochondrial motility.