Neo1p is an essential yeast member of the highly conserved Drs2 family of P-type ATPases with proposed aminophospholipid translocase activity. Here we present evidence that Neo1p localizes to endosomes and Golgi elements. In agreement with that finding, the temperature-sensitive neo1-37 and neo1-69 mutants exhibit defects in receptor-mediated endocytosis, vacuole biogenesis, and vacuolar protein sorting. Furthermore, neo1 mutants accumulate aberrantly shaped membranous structures most likely derived from vacuoles and the endosomal/Golgi system. At permissive temperatures, HA-Neo1-69p, like wild-type Neo1p, is stable and associates with endosomes. In contrast, HA-Neo1-37p is rapidly degraded and is predominantly retained within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Thus, the two neo1 alleles affect the stability and localization of the mutant polypeptides in different ways. A C-terminally truncated and a C-terminally epitope-tagged version of Neo1p are nonfunctional and also mislocalize to the ER. In agreement with a role within the endomembrane system, Neo1p exhibits genetic and physical interactions with Ysl2p, a potential guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Arl1p. Interestingly, deletion of ARL1 rescues the temperature sensitivity of neo1-37 and neo1-69. We demonstrate that Arl1p in its myristoylated and GTP-bound form is responsible for the inhibitory effect. Thus, Neo1p, Ysl2p, and Arl1p represent three proteins that collaborate in membrane trafficking within the endosomal/Golgi system.

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a key regulator of mitosis, but the roles that it plays are poorly understood. New evidence in budding yeast shows that the Zds proteins form a tight stoichiometric complex with PP2A and target its activity to the Cdc25 phosphatase, which is a key regulator of entry into mitosis.

In this study we identi¢ed a novel protein, Bsp1p, that interacts directly with two yeast synaptojanins, Sjl2p and Sjl3p, but not with Sjl1p. The interaction takes place via the Sac1/polyphosphoinositide phosphatase domain, whose conserved C-terminal region is important for binding. Subcellular localization and genetic interactions revealed a function of Bsp1p in the cortical actin cytoskeleton. A fraction of Bsp1p was found to be membrane-associated. Studies with mutants of phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase, PIK1, suggested that the interaction with membranes is facilitated by phosphoinositides. We propose that Bsp1p is an adapter that links Sjl2p and Sjl3p to the cortical actin cytoskeleton. ß

Sjl2p is one of three yeast phosphoinositide 5 0 -phosphatases that belong to the conserved family of synaptojanins. Here, we show that Sjl2p is specifically associated with cortical actin patches which aggregate upon loss of the actin-regulating kinases Ark1p and Prk1p. The Sjl2p-containing clumps overlap with clathrin and early endocytic structures generated independently of NSF/Sec18p, but not with endosome-and trans Golgi network-derived membranes. Consistent with the finding that Sjl2p can bind to clathrin heavy chain in vitro, our results suggest that Sjl2p localizes to smooth endocytic vesicles that may be derived from clathrin-coated structures.