During sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the dityrosine transporter Dtr1p, which is required for formation of the outermost layer of the spore wall, is specifically expressed and transported to the prospore membrane, a novel double-lipid-bilayer membrane. Dtr1p consists of 572 amino acids with predicted N-and C-terminal cytoplasmic extensions and 12 transmembrane domains. Dtr1p missing the largest internal cytoplasmic loop was trapped in the endoplasmic reticulum in both mitotically dividing cells and cells induced to sporulate. Deletion of the carboxyl 15 amino acids, but not the N-terminal extension of Dtr1p, resulted in a protein that failed to localize to the prospore membrane and was instead observed in cytoplasmic puncta. The puncta colocalized with a cis-Golgi marker, suggesting that Dtr1p missing the last 15 amino acids was trapped in an early Golgi compartment. Deletion of the C-terminal 10 amino acids resulted in a protein that localized to the prospore membrane with a delay and accumulated in cytoplasmic puncta that partially colocalized with a trans-Golgi marker. Both full-length Dtr1p and Dtr1p missing the last 10 amino acids expressed in vegetative cells localized to the plasma membrane and vacuoles, while Dtr1p deleted for the carboxyl-terminal 15 amino acids was observed only at vacuoles, suggesting that transport to the prospore membrane is mediated by distinct signals from those that specify plasma membrane localization. Transfer-of-function experiments revealed that both the carboxyl transmembrane domain and the C-terminal tail are important for Golgi complex-to-prospore membrane transport.Saccharomyces cerevisiae sporulation is a complex sexual differentiation program initiated in MATa/MAT␣ diploid cells by depletion of nitrogen in the presence of a nonfermentable carbon source (16). During sporulation, four haploid gametes, packaged as spores, are produced within the mother cell to form the ascus. Sporulation requires that meiosis, the process whereby the ploidy is reduced, and spore formation be exquisitely coordinated to ensure the production of viable gametes. During the second meiotic division, new proteinaceous structures termed the meiotic outer plaques (MOPs) are formed on the cytoplasmic face of the spindle pole bodies (SPBs), which are analogous to vertebrate centrosomes, and serve as platforms for vesicles to dock and fuse to form a novel double-lipid bilayer, the prospore membrane (PSM) (12,14). PSMs develop as sacs by continuous fusion of vesicles to engulf each daughter nucleus, followed by PSM closure at the opposite side of each SPB (29). The inner lipid bilayer of the PSM becomes the plasma membrane (PM) of the spore, while the outer layer eventually lyses during the course of spore wall formation. The completion of PSM formation triggers the initiation of spore wall synthesis. The spore wall is composed of four distinct layers, namely, mannan and glucan, which form the inner layers, and chitosan and dityrosine, which form the spore-specific outer layers, formed outwar...