Adaptor protein (AP) complexes bind to transmembrane proteins destined for internalization and to membrane lipids, so linking cargo to the accessory internalization machinery.This machinery interacts with the appendage domains of APs, which have platform and -sandwich subdomains, forming the binding surfaces for interacting proteins. Proteins that interact with the subdomains do so via short motifs, usually found in regions of low structural complexity of the interacting proteins. So far, up to four motifs have been identified that bind to and partially compete for at least two sites on each of the appendage domains of the AP2 complex. Motifs in individual accessory proteins, their sequential arrangement into motif domains, and partial competition for binding sites on the appendage domains coordinate the formation of endocytic complexes in a temporal and spatial manner. In this work, we examine the dominant interaction sequence in amphiphysin, a synapse-enriched accessory protein, which generates membrane curvature and recruits the scission protein dynamin to the necks of coated pits, for the platform subdomain of the ␣-appendage. The motif domain of amphiphysin1 contains one copy of each of a DX(F/W) and FXDXF motif. We find that the FXDXF motif is the main determinant for the high affinity interaction with the ␣-adaptin appendage. We describe the optimal sequence of the FXDXF motif using thermodynamic and structural data and show how sequence variation controls the affinities of these motifs for the ␣-appendage.Clathrin-mediated endocytosis is the process whereby proteins and lipids destined for internalization from the plasma membrane are packaged into vesicles with the aid of a clathrin coat. Purified coated vesicles from brain contain three major components as follows: clathrin, AP180, and AP2 complexes (1-3). Clathrin triskelia oligomerize to provide the scaffold around the forming vesicle (and can form similar cages in solution (4)). With its terminal domain, clathrin interacts with other endocytic proteins, including the AP2 7 complex, AP180, epsin, disabled-2 (Dab2), and amphiphysin. These interactions are mediated via short motifs; for example, clathrin binds to amphiphysin through motifs such as LLDLD or PWXXW (5, 6). Because oligomeric clathrin presents an array of binding sites for these motifs, it serves as a network hub, organizing binding partners within the lattice. The AP complexes, as well as many accessory proteins and alternative cargo adaptors such as AP180, Dab2, epsin, and amphiphysin, recruit clathrin to PtdIns(4,5)P 2 -rich areas in the membrane and promote its polymerization into a lattice. Because of its significant number of interaction partners, another key hub in the endocytic interactome is the AP2 complex (7-9). It consists of four subunits (␣, 2, 2, and 2) and forms a stable heterotetramer in solution (10). Using electron microscopy it was shown that the AP2 complex can be subdivided into the following: (i) a trunk domain, which interacts with cargo proteins and PtdIns(4,5)P 2...