Mnn9p is a component of two distinct multiprotein complexes in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cis-Golgi that have both been shown to have ␣-1,6-mannosyltransferase activity in vitro. In one of these complexes, Mnn9p associates with four other membrane proteins, Anp1p, Mnn10p, Mnn11p, and Hoc1p, whereas the other complex consists of Mnn9p and Van1p. Members of the Mnn9p-containing complexes were incorporated into COPII vesicles made in vitro from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes isolated from cycloheximidetreated cells. This behavior is consistent with an active Golgi to ER recycling process. To examine this path in vivo, we monitored retrograde transport of subunits of the complex in cells blocked in anterograde transport from the ER. In this situation, specific relocation of the proteins from the Golgi to the ER was observed in the absence of new protein synthesis. Conversely, when retrograde transport was blocked in vivo, subunits of the mannosyltransferase complex accumulated in the vacuole. Packaging of Mnn9p in COPI-coated vesicles from purified Golgi membranes was also investigated using a coatomer-dependent vesicle budding assay. Gradient fractionation experiments showed that Mnn9p and the retrograde v-SNARE, Sec22p, were incorporated into COPI-coated vesicles. These observations indicate that the Mnn9p-containing mannosyltransferase complexes cycle back and forth between the ER and Golgi.T he biogenesis of the Golgi complex and the mechanism of intra-Golgi protein transport have long been the subject of intense interest in membrane cell biology. The origin of the different Golgi subcompartments, with their unique set of resident proteins and specialized functions, is a matter of much debate. Two models inform this debate (1, 2). The vesicular transport model posits that Golgi cisternae are stable structures that receive and create vesicles carrying cargo molecules in the anterograde direction and retrograde vesicles returning escaped proteins to their resident cisternae or the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (3). Alternatively, in the cisternal maturation model, each Golgi cisterna translates through a stack of membranes acquiring new functional capabilities by fusing with retrograde vesicles that carry enzymes from a distal cisterna (2). According to this view, the cis-Golgi can then be considered an outgrowth of the ER, formed by the homotypic fusion of ER-derived transport vesicles. A possible resolution is that the two mechanisms operate in parallel to achieve rapid (vesicular) and slow (cisternal) transport of molecules and large particles, respectively (4).One strong piece of evidence for cisternal maturation emerged from studies in which procollagen helical fibers were tracked as they moved across the Golgi stack in collagen-secreting fibroblasts (5). Using a combination of biochemical and morphological methods, Bonfanti et al. (5) demonstrated that procollagen traverses the stack while staying enclosed in the lumen of Golgi cisternae. Independent evidence supporting this view came with the observat...