The ESCRT machinery mediates reverse membrane scission. By quantitative fluorescence lattice light-sheet microscopy, we have shown that ESCRT-III subunits polymerize rapidly on yeast endosomes, together with the recruitment of at least two Vps4 hexamers. During their 3–45 s lifetimes, the ESCRT-III assemblies accumulated 75–200 Snf7 and 15–50 Vps24 molecules. Productive budding events required at least two additional Vps4 hexamers. Membrane budding was associated with continuous, stochastic exchange of Vps4 and ESCRT-III components, rather than steady growth of fixed assemblies, and depended on Vps4 ATPase activity. An all-or-none step led to final release of ESCRT-III and Vps4. Tomographic electron microscopy demonstrated that acute disruption of Vps4 recruitment stalled membrane budding. We propose a model in which multiple Vps4 hexamers (four or more) draw together several ESCRT-III filaments. This process induces cargo crowding and inward membrane buckling, followed by constriction of the nascent bud neck and ultimately ILV generation by vesicle fission.

Vps4 both recycles ESCRT-III subunits and cooperates with ESCRT-III to drive distinct membrane remodeling steps that lead to efficient membrane scission during the biogenesis of multivesicular bodies.

The unconventional secretory pathway exports proteins that bypass the endoplasmic reticulum. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, conditions that trigger Acb1 secretion via this pathway generate a Grh1 containing compartment composed of vesicles and tubules surrounded by a cup-shaped membrane and collectively called CUPS. Here we report a quantitative assay for Acb1 secretion that reveals requirements for ESCRT-I, -II, and -III but, surprisingly, without the involvement of the Vps4 AAA-ATPase. The major ESCRT-III subunit Snf7 localizes transiently to CUPS and this was accelerated in vps4Δ cells, correlating with increased Acb1 secretion. Microscopic analysis suggests that, instead of forming intraluminal vesicles with the help of Vps4, ESCRT-III/Snf7 promotes direct engulfment of preexisting Grh1 containing vesicles and tubules into a saccule to generate a mature Acb1 containing compartment. This novel multivesicular / multilamellar compartment, we suggest represents the stable secretory form of CUPS that is competent for the release of Acb1 to cells exterior.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16299.001