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Vol. 14, Issue 6, 2277-2291, June 2003
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* Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of
Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0347;
Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, The University of Chicago,
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Submitted October 30, 2003;
Revised January 2, 2003;
Accepted March 4, 2003
Monitoring Editor: Vivek Malhotra
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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We are using electron microscopy to test predictions of the different
Golgi-trafficking models. Because some of the relevant questions involve
structural details such as the connectivity between membrane compartments, we
use cryofixation and freeze substitution to maximize the fidelity of cellular
preservation (Gilkey and Staehelin,
1986
). Computerized tomography provides enhanced resolution for
three-dimensional (3D) analysis (McEwen
and Marko, 1999
). Our previous work along these lines yielded
valuable qualitative and quantitative data about Golgi organization in
mammalian cells (Ladinsky et al.,
1999
; Marsh et al.,
2001
).
Although the mammalian Golgi is well characterized, it has several
limitations for morphological analysis. Mammalian Golgi stacks are large and
are laterally interconnected into a ribbon
(Rambourg and Clermont, 1997
),
so the tomographic reconstruction of an entire Golgi unit would be difficult.
The mammalian Golgi ribbon is physically distant from transitional endoplasmic
reticulum (tER) sites (Palade,
1975
; Bannykh et al.,
1996
; Hammond and Glick,
2000
), and as a result, the early intermediates in ER-to-Golgi
transport are absent from tomograms of mammalian Golgi stacks. For these
reasons, we decided to examine Golgi organization in a simple unicellular
eukaryote.
A suitable organism for this purpose is the budding yeast Pichia
pastoris. Unlike Saccharomyces cerevisiae, P. pastoris contains
stacked Golgi organelles (Gould et
al., 1992
; Glick,
1996
). A typical P. pastoris cell has three to five
separate Golgi stacks, each of which is adjacent to a discrete tER site
(Rossanese et al.,
1999
). Thus, an entire tER-Golgi unit can be reconstructed in a
single tomogram. tER sites and Golgi stacks in P. pastoris have been
characterized by fluorescence microscopy
(Rossanese et al.,
1999
), and the dynamic behavior of these compartments was recently
documented by in vivo imaging (Bevis et
al., 2002
). Finally, P. pastoris is amenable to
experimental manipulations, which are facilitated by the close relatedness of
this yeast to S. cerevisiae
(Gould et al., 1992
;
Rossanese et al.,
1999
).
In this study, we have used P. pastoris to place morphological constraints on models of Golgi function, and more specifically, to test three predictions of the cisternal maturation model. First, the precursor of a new cis cisterna is predicted to be a group of COPII and COPI vesicles. Second, cisternal morphology and composition are predicted to change progressively across the Golgi stack, in a manner that is consistent with a precursorproduct relationship. Third, TGN cisternae are predicted to dissociate from the stack as they mature into secretory carriers. Our results confirm all three predictions. In addition, a comparison of P. pastoris with mammalian cells has highlighted both conserved and cell type-specific aspects of Golgi organization.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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High-Pressure Freezing and Freeze Substitution
Cells were concentrated using a 0.22-µm filter (Millipore, Bedford, MA)
and the wet cell paste was transferred to sample holders. The samples were
frozen in a Baltec HPM10 high-pressure freezer (Technotrade, Manchester, NH)
and transferred to liquid N2 for storage. For ultrastructural work,
samples were subjected to freeze substitution in 0.5% glutaraldehyde and 0.2%
tannic acid in acetone at -80°C for 3 d, rinsed for 1 d with -80°C
acetone, fixed with 2% OsO4 for 12 h, and then slowly warmed up to
room temperature. After several acetone rinses, the samples were infiltrated
with Epon resin (Ted Pella, Redding, CA) and polymerized at 60°C as
described in Otegui et al.
(2001
). For immunoelectron
microscopy, samples were freeze substituted with 0.25% glutaraldehyde and 0.1%
uranyl acetate in acetone at -80°C for 5 d and then slowly warmed up to
-20°C. The samples were rinsed for 5 h with -20°C acetone and then
infiltrated with Lowicryl HM20 resin (Electron Microscopy Sciences, Ft.
Washington, PA) and polymerized with UV light at -50°C as described in
Otegui et al.
(2001
).
Immunolabeling
Ultrathin sections were collected on formvar-coated nickel grids. The
sections were blocked for 30 min with 2.5% nonfat milk in phosphate-buffered
saline with 0.1% Tween 20 (PBST), incubated with primary antibody for 3 h,
rinsed with PBST, incubated for 1 h with 10- or 15-nm gold-conjugated goat
anti-rabbit antibody at 1:20 dilution in PBST, rinsed with PBST and water, and
finally stained with 2% uranyl acetate in 70% methanol and Reynold's lead
citrate. The anti-green fluorescent protein (GFP)
(Seedorf et al.,
1999
) and anti-myc (9E10; Covance, Denver, PA) antibodies were
both used at 1:200 dilution in PBST and 2.5% nonfat milk.
High-Voltage Electron Microscopy and Dual-Axis Tilt Series
Imaging
Tomograms and modeling of 3D structures was carried out as described in
Otegui et al. (2001
)
and Marsh et al.
(2001
). In brief, ribbons of
serial 250- or 300-nm thick sections were cut and post-stained with 2% uranyl
acetate in 70% methanol and Reynold's lead citrate. Colloidal gold markers (10
nm) were deposited on both sides of the sections for use as fiducial points
during subsequent image alignment. Selected cells were imaged at 12,000x
using a JEM-1000 (JEOL, Tokyo, Japan) high-voltage microscope operating at 750
kV. The specimens were tilted at 1.5° intervals over a range of 120°
about two orthogonal axes, and images were captured with a digital camera
(Gatan, Pleasanton, CA). Areas larger than the 1.42 x 1.42 µm covered
by the camera were captured by combining adjacent images into larger montaged
images. The reconstructed 3D data covered volumes ranging between 1.42 x
1.42 x 0.25 µm and 1.42 x 2.84 x 0.75 µm.
3D Reconstruction from Dual-Axis Tilt Series
Images were aligned as described in Ladinsky et al.
(1999
). Tomograms were
computed for each tilt series using an R-weighted back-projection algorithm
(Gilbert, 1972
). Next,
tomograms from orthogonal tilt series were combined to yield dual-axis
tomograms by using a warping procedure
(Mastronarde, 1997
). Dual-axis
tomograms from serial sections could be combined, producing serial tomograms
of volumes thicker than individual sections.
3D Modeling
Tomograms were displayed and analyzed using the IMOD software package
(Kremer et al., 1996
)
on a Silicon Graphics computer (Silicon Graphics, Mountain View, CA).
Membranes and ribosomes were modeled as described in Ladinsky et al.
(1999
), and a surface mesh was
rendered to fit the modeled contours. Quantitative data about the 3D models
were extracted using the program imodinfo, which is part of the IMOD software
package.
| RESULTS |
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Serial thin-section analysis of 67 Golgi stacks demonstrated that most contained three or four cisternae (Figure 2A). For convenience, we have classified these cisternae as cis, medial, trans, or TGN based on morphological and biochemical criteria (see below). Such a classification may be somewhat imprecise, because the cisternal maturation model implies that Golgi cisternae change continuously, but even so it is useful to classify cisternae with regard to their approximate stage of maturation. According to our definitions, the Golgi stacks with three cisternae contained a cis (C1), a medial (C2), and a trans (C3) cisterna, and the stacks with four cisternae also contained a TGN (C4) cisterna.
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Polarity of P. pastoris Golgi Stacks Reflects a Biochemical
Compartmentation
The next step was to determine whether the differential lumenal staining of
the cisternae reflects a biochemical compartmentation of the Golgi. To address
this question, we examined the distribution of proteins that were predicted to
mark either the cis or the trans/TGN side of the stack. A
P. pastoris strain was made with the genomic copies of the
OCH1 and the SEC7 genes replaced with the gene fusions
OCH1-myc and SEC7-GFP, respectively. Och1p is a
mannosyltransferase of the cis Golgi
(Nakayama et al.,
1992
; Gaynor et al.,
1994
), and in a previous study we expressed a tagged version of
S. cerevisiae Och1p in P. pastoris
(Rossanese et al.,
1999
). Because endogenous Och1p is likely to be a more reliable
cis Golgi marker, we have now replaced the P. pastoris OCH1
gene with a tagged version. Sec7p is a peripheral membrane protein of the late
Golgi (Franzusoff et al.,
1991
), and we replaced the P. pastoris SEC7 gene with
SEC7-GFP (Soderholm et
al., 2001
) in the strain expressing OCH1-myc. By
immunofluorescence microscopy, Och1p-myc and Sec7p-GFP were localized to
punctate structures typical of the P. pastoris Golgi
(Figure 3;
Rossanese et al.,
1999
). In merged images, the two markers were adjacent or
partially overlapping, consistent with localization to opposite sides of the
Golgi stacks.
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To confirm this interpretation of the fluorescence micrographs, the fusion proteins were immunolocalized in ultra-thin sections of cryofixed, HM20-embedded cells (Figure 4). Although the tER sites and Golgi stacks were less defined than in Epon-embedded samples (compare Figure 4B with C and D), it was clear that Och1p-myc localized to the cis side of the Golgi stacks near the tER, whereas Sec7p-GFP localized to the opposite trans side of the stacks (Figure 4, C and D). To quantify this distribution, gold particles were counted on a total of 70 stacks labeled with either an anti-myc or an anti-GFP antibody. Figure 4A shows that Och1p-myc localized primarily to C1 and C2 cisternae, whereas Sec7p-GFP was concentrated on C3 and TGN cisternae. The background labeling in other parts of the cell was negligible. These data confirm the validity of using Och1p and Sec7p as cis and trans-Golgi markers in P. pastoris and demonstrate that the osmium staining gradient across the stacks is paralleled by a functional compartmentation of the P. pastoris Golgi.
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3D Tomographic Models of tER Sites, Golgi Stacks, and TGN
Cisternae
To explore the detailed 3D architecture of the tERGolgi system in
P. pastoris, we performed electron tomography. Twelve tomograms were
produced. Several of the tomograms were from serial sections, which were
combined to yield serial tomograms containing entire Golgi stacks.
Figure 5A shows a tomographic
slice from a dual-axis tomogram containing a tER site plus an almost complete
Golgi stack and TGN. This single slice represents a thickness of
2.3 nm,
and the full tomogram comprises 257 such slices, corresponding to a cell
volume
0.6 µm in thickness. The resolution of the tomogram was
7
nm, which is 1020 times better than can be achieved with serial thin
section reconstruction methods. The preservation and staining characteristics
of the structures were identical to those in ultra-thin sections
(Figure 1), and were adequate
for visualizing membrane bilayers and protein coats. One tomogram contained
two tER sites and Golgi stacks, enabling us to compare variability between
these structures within the same sample (our unpublished data).
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Using the IMOD software, the tomographic data were interpreted by tracing all membranes in each slice of the tomograms. An example is given in Figure 5B where the membranes of a vesicle and a Golgi stack have been traced. Although it would be difficult to determine exactly where to draw membrane boundaries in a single slice, this task is made easier by studying the neighboring slices, and by combining five to 10 adjacent slices into a two-dimensional projection by using the slicer tool in IMOD. Movie 1 shows the tomographic slices of the tomogram illustrated in Figure 5. By scanning these slices, the distribution of fenestrae and tubules could be determined unambiguously. A 3D model was generated by rendering a surface fit to the contours (Figures 6 and 8).
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Vesicles and Coated Buds Fill the Space between a tER Site and the
Adjacent cis Cisterna
Three tER sites were modeled along with their Golgi stacks, and two of
these models are shown in Figure
6. tER sites were present in flat, cisterna-like domains of the
ER. Each tER site was clearly delineated by a ribosome exclusion zone.
Unexpectedly, the cis most cisterna was not perfectly aligned with
this zone (Figure 6F). tER site
1 in Figure 6 had five budding
or fusing structures (Figure
6A), whereas tER site 2 had only one such structure
(Figure 6G). Because all of the
tER-associated structures had proteinaceous coats
(Figure 6, C, D, E, and H),
similar to the coats seen on a subset of the adjacent vesicles
(Figure 6, C, E, and H), we
postulate that these structures correspond to budding COPII vesicles.
Consistent with this view, previous immunoelectron microscopy of P.
pastoris indicated that COPII components are concentrated at the
tER-Golgi interface (Rossanese et
al., 1999
). Interestingly, the five budding structures at tER
site 1 looked aligned. The space between the tER site and the cis
most cisterna was always very narrow, confining all the budding, fusing, and
free vesicles in this zone to a single plane
(Figure 4B). This planar
organization was also seen in the tomographic models
(Figure 6, D and H).
The vesicles between the tER sites and the C1 cisternae were of two size
classes, with inner diameters of
42 and 34 nm
(Figure 7). The larger vesicles
had a lightly and uniformly stained lumen resembling the lumen of the budding
structures at the tER sites, and virtually all of the larger vesicles were
covered by a proteinaceous coat resembling the coat on the budding structures
at the tER sites. Based on these criteria, we propose that the 42-nm vesicles
are anterograde COPII vesicles (Figure
6), and we will refer to them in the text as putative COPII
vesicles. The smaller 34-nm vesicles could be distinguished from the larger
vesicles by their densely stained lumens
(Figure 7). These smaller
vesicles were occasionally seen outside the tER-Golgi interface, mostly along
the margins of the stacks (Figure
8). Based on these observations, the 34-nm vesicles are probably
retrograde COPI vesicles, and we will refer to them in the text as putative
COPI vesicles. Our vesicle diameters are slightly smaller than those
previously reported for COPI and COPII vesicles
(Rothman and Wieland, 1996
;
Schekman and Orci, 1996
),
presumably because the swelling artifacts that can be induced by chemical
fixation and dehydration were eliminated here by using high-pressure freezing
and freeze substitution.
One budding or fusing vesicle profile was seen at the center of the C1 cisterna of tER site 2 (Figure 6G). Judging from the size and staining characteristics of this structure, it was potentially an anterograde COPII vesicle fusing with the C1 cisterna.
We never observed a tER site without an adjacent Golgi stack, or vice
versa. This result is consistent with previous fluorescence microscopy
studies, which indicated that tER sites and Golgi stacks in P.
pastoris are closely associated with one another
(Rossanese et al.,
1999
; Bevis et al.,
2002
).
P. pastoris Golgi Cisternae Exhibit Systematic Morphological Changes
across the Stacks
Three complete Golgi stacks with four cisternae each were modeled from
serial tomograms. With this method,
30 nm of information is lost between
adjacent sections, and in our 3D models these gaps have been filled by
interpolation, manifesting as smoother domains. The edges of some cisternae
could not be reconstructed because they fell into the gaps between adjacent
sections. Slices of Golgi stacks were also modeled from single tomograms of
250- to 300-nm-thick cell volumes. By using the IMOD software
(Kremer et al.,
1996
), the individual components of the models were studied from
multiple angles. In Figure 9,
the individual cisternae of two modeled Golgi stacks are depicted in face-on
views, as seen from the cis side of the stack (Stack 1 is the same
one that is shown in Figure 8).
In all of the models, the cisternae exhibited several characteristic
morphological features, and each of the stacks seemed to possess a
cis (C1), a medial (C2), a trans (C3), and a TGN cisterna.
These structural differences complemented the differences in cisternal
staining and biochemical composition (Figures
1 and
4).
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When the cisternae were compared across the stack, several features were seen to be shared by two or more types of cisternae. Surface area and volume were very similar for all of the cisternal types (Figure 2, B and C). The C1, C2, and C3 cisternae possessed budding/fusing structures along their margins, and some of these structures were covered by a densely staining coat (Figure 9, C1 and C3 of stack 1). The C1 and TGN cisternae lacked tubules, whereas all of the C2 and C3 cisternae had tubules projecting from their rims. None of the tubules seemed to be fused to other cisternae, indicating that each cisterna in a Golgi stack was a physically separate compartment.
Superimposed on these shared features was a clear morphological change across the stacks (Figure 9). The most notable change was the number and location of fenestrae. C1 cisternae were disk shaped, had slightly bulging margins, and were basically devoid of fenestrae (Figures 8 and 9). In contrast, the C2 cisternae exhibited numerous fenestrae of fairly uniform size. These fenestrae were concentrated near the rims of the C2 cisternae. The C3 cisternae had a similar number of fenestrae as the C2 cisternae (Figure 2D), but the individual C3 fenestrae tended to be larger. Many of the C3 fenestrae were distant from the cisternal rims, but they were still largely absent from the central portions of the cisternae (Figure 9). The TGN cisternae had larger and more evenly distributed fenestrae than the C3 cisternae, giving the TGN cisternae a network-like architecture. In some places the TGN networks seemed to be in the process of breaking up along the margins.
Intact TGN Cisternae Apparently Dissociate from Golgi Stacks
The coherence of P. pastoris Golgi stacks was underscored by the
exclusion of ribosomes from the regions between the C1 to C3 cisternae
(Figures 1,
5,
7,
11, and
14). These three cisternae
were closely juxtaposed and evenly spaced. However, ribosomes were frequently
observed between the C3 and TGN cisternae (Figures
1 and
11), suggesting that the TGN
cisternae were less tightly associated with the stacks. TGN-like structures
were often seen to be completely separated from a stack by ribosome-containing
cytoplasm (Figure 11). Such
independent structures were named "free-floating" TGN cisternae
(ff-TGNs). The separation of a TGN cisterna from a parental stack is
illustrated in the 3D model in Figure
10, and Figure 11, A and
B, show what we interpret as two different stages of TGN release
from parental stacks. To verify that the structures identified as ff-TGNs were
indeed TGN cisternae, we used immunoelectron microscopy to test whether they
contained the trans/TGN marker Sec7p-GFP. In
Figure 11C, two
immunogold-labeled Sec7p-GFPcontaining cisternae seem to be in the
process of separating from a stack. Figure
11D shows an ff-TGN cisterna with labeling of the Sec7p-GFP
marker.
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To learn more about the ff-TGNs, we analyzed 16 P. pastoris cells by serial thin-section analysis. The IMOD software was used to build 3D models of several of these cells (Figure 12). This approach has a lower resolution than tomographic analysis, but it was sufficient to identify ff-TGN cisternae and to determine their number and distribution with respect to Golgi stacks and tER sites. Most of the ff-TGNs seemed to be in the general vicinity of their putative parental stacks rather than randomly distributed throughout the cytosol (Figure 12). This result suggests that the ff-TGNs fragment before moving too far from the parental stacks, or that moving further away is a rare and/or rapid event that would seldom be observed.
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We did not investigate the detailed 3D structure of the ff-TGNs by
tomographic analysis. However, in thin-section electron micrographs,
structures that exhibited the morphological features of clathrin-coated
vesicles (Staehelin et al.,
1990
) were occasionally seen adjacent to ff-TGN cisternae
(Figure 13). These putative
clathrin-coated vesicles were never seen next to TGN cisternae that were
associated with a stack, although due to the limited number of observations we
cannot rule out that such vesicles might also arise from stack-associated TGN
cisternae. As seen in Figure
13, the putative clathrin-coated vesicles had a densely staining
lumen similar to that of the ff-TGNs.
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A Ribosome-excluding Matrix Encompasses Each tER-Golgi Unit
The coherence of the P. pastoris Golgi stacks may be due to matrix
proteins that glue the cisternae together. In support of this idea, we found
that each tER-Golgi unit seemed to be embedded in a "matrix" that
excluded ribosomes (Figure
14). This zone of ribosome exclusion extended from the tER site to
the cis most cisterna and around the rest of the adjacent Golgi
stack. The putative COPII vesicles were always seen inside the exclusion zone
between the tER site and the Golgi stack, whereas most of the putative COPI
vesicles were located near the edge of this exclusion zone. Interestingly,
ribosomes were sometimes seen to penetrate the larger fenestrae of the TGN
cisternae (Figure 14). These
findings support the idea that the matrix is anchored to the tER and Golgi
membranes and that it has a defined thickness. Moreover, the frequent presence
of ribosomes in the region between the C3 and TGN cisternae suggests that
release of a TGN cisterna from a Golgi stack involves disruption of the
matrix.
| DISCUSSION |
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COPII and COPI Vesicles Accumulate at the tER-Golgi Interface
The data presented herein confirm and extend the previous observation of
Rossanese et al.
(1999
) that P.
pastoris Golgi stacks are closely associated with tER sites. Indeed, each
of the more than 80 Golgi stacks that we examined by serial thin-section
analysis and dual-axis tomography was located adjacent to a tER site.
According to the cisternal maturation model, a new cis cisterna
forms when tER-derived COPII vesicles fuse with one another and with
Golgi-derived retrograde COPI vesicles
(Glick and Malhotra, 1998
). A
predicted early intermediate in this process is a group of COPII and COPI
vesicles. Such an intermediate has not previously been observed, but seems to
exist in P. pastoris. As shown in Figures
1,
5,
6, and
8, the interface between a tER
site and the adjacent cis cisterna contains tER-associated buds and
free vesicles that are presumably generated by the COPII pathway
(Schekman and Orci, 1996
).
Interestingly, protein coats are observed not only on all of the
tER-associated buds, but also on most of the tER-derived vesicles. Smaller
vesicles, presumably generated by the COPI pathway
(Rothman and Wieland, 1996
),
are relegated to the edges of the tER-Golgi interface. In the 12 tomograms
produced and analyzed in this study, we did not encounter a structure that was
clearly an intermediate in the assembly of a cisterna from vesicles. However,
several samples did possess cis cisternae with smaller diameters than
the adjacent medial cisternae. We speculate that the initial fusion of COPII
and COPI vesicles to form a new cis cisterna is a rapid, synchronous
event, and that the resulting cisterna quickly adopts a mature architecture.
If this interpretation is correct, our data set was not large enough to
capture the short-lived intermediates in cisternal formation. Because the
assembly of cis cisternae is a key prediction of the cisternal
maturation model, it will be important in future studies to determine whether
intermediates in cisternal assembly can be identified in P.
pastoris.
In mammalian cells, presumptive intermediates in cisternal assembly are
readily observed and are known as elements of the ER-Golgi intermediate
compartment (ERGIC) or vesicular-tubular clusters
(Hauri and Schweizer, 1992
;
Saraste and Kuismanen, 1992
;
Bannykh and Balch, 1997
;
Ladinsky et al.,
1999
). These ERGIC elements act as transport carriers by moving
along microtubules from peripheral tER sites to the juxtanuclear Golgi ribbon
(Presley et al.,
1997
; Scales et al.,
1997
). In P. pastoris, the Golgi stacks are directly
apposed to tER sites, so there is apparently no need for long-lived ERGIC-type
transport intermediates.
In addition to participating in the assembly of new cisternae, COPI
vesicles have been proposed to function within the Golgi stack to carry
anterograde secretory cargo (Rothman and
Wieland, 1996
; Pelham and
Rothman, 2000
; Cosson et
al., 2002
) and to recycle resident Golgi proteins
(Glick et al., 1997
;
Martínez-Menárguez et
al., 2001
; Storrie and
Nilsson, 2002
). Consistent with these models, coated budding
profiles were seen on P. pastoris Golgi cisternae
(Figure 9). However, only
relatively few vesicles were seen in the vicinity of the Golgi stacks
(Figure 8). The situation is
different in mammalian cells, where numerous vesicles are tethered to the
Golgi cisternae (Orci et al.,
1998
; Ladinsky et
al., 1999
; Marsh et
al., 2001
). This difference becomes less striking when
considering that a P. pastoris Golgi stack has <5% of the surface
area of a mammalian Golgi stack. We have calculated that the vesicle density
per unit surface area for P. pastoris Golgi stacks is
30% of the
vesicle density per unit surface area for normal rat kidney (NRK) cell Golgi
stacks (Ladinsky et al.,
1999
). It remains to be tested whether the vesicles around the
P. pastoris Golgi stacks are indeed COPI vesicles, as we propose
based on our structural criteria, and whether they carry resident Golgi
proteins as predicted by the cisternal maturation model
(Glick et al., 1997
;
Martínez-Menárguez et
al., 2001
; Storrie and
Nilsson, 2002
).
A Ribosome-excluding Matrix Links a tER Site and a Golgi Stack into a
Functional Unit
Typically, budded P. pastoris cells possess four to eight
tER-Golgi units, depending on the stage of the cell cycle
(Figure 12;
Rossanese et al.,
1999
). Live-cell fluorescence imaging indicated that tER-Golgi
units form de novo (Bevis et al.,
2002
). This result was interpreted to mean that a new tER site
gives rise to a new Golgi stack, but we have not been able to detect such an
event in our electron micrographs. The few Golgi stacks that had only two
cisternae (Figure 2) may have
been recently formed, but we have never observed a tER site associated with a
single cisterna or with only a cluster of COPII vesicles. Of course, any such
intermediates that are very transient would be difficult to capture by
electron microscopy.
It has been suggested that the formation of coherent Golgi stacks in P.
pastoris may be a kinetic phenomenon caused by restriction of the COPII
vesicle machinery to discrete tER sites
(Rossanese et al.,
1999
; Glick,
2000
). If tER sites are long lived then repeated rounds of COPII
vesicle budding should allow new cisternae to be assembled repeatedly at the
same locations. Videomicroscopy confirmed that tER sites in P.
pastoris persist for at least 30 min
(Bevis et al., 2002
).
Thus, multiple rounds of cisternal assembly next to a tER site could
potentially generate an ordered Golgi stack, provided that diffusion of the
cisternae is slow relative to cisternal maturation. This kinetic model can
explain the observation that in S. cerevisiae, COPII vesicle budding
occurs throughout the ER and the Golgi cisternae are scattered throughout the
cytoplasm (Rossanese et al.,
1999
; Rambourg et
al., 2001
). However, this model does not account for the
close association and regular spacing between tER sites and cis,
medial, and trans cisternae in P. pastoris. We therefore
propose that additional physical constraints help to generate coherent
tER-Golgi units.
Each P. pastoris tER-Golgi unit is embedded in a ribosome-free
zone (Figures 14 and
15) that is probably created
by a dense proteinaceous network. Similarly, plant Golgi stacks are completely
surrounded by a ribosome-excluding Golgi matrix
(Staehelin and Moore, 1995
),
which may protect the stacks from shearing as they are propelled through the
cytoplasm (Nebenfuhr and Staehelin,
2001
). In mammalian cells, a similar Golgi matrix excludes
ribosomes (Lucocq et al.,
1987
) and is thought to contain structural proteins such as
spectrin and ankyrin as well as the Golgin family of coiled coil proteins
(DeMatteis and Morrow, 2000
;
Barr et al., 2001
).
This matrix has been implicated in generating the higher order architecture of
the Golgi apparatus and in Golgi inheritance during mitosis (Seemann et
al., 2000
,
2002
). P. pastoris is
a promising experimental system for defining the composition and function of
the Golgi matrix.
Membrane Continuities between Golgi Cisternae Are Absent in P.
pastoris
Despite the close apposition of Golgi cisternae, we found no evidence for
membrane continuities that would link the lumenal spaces of different
cisternae. Unlike mammalian Golgi stacks, which are laterally interconnected
to form a ribbon (Rambourg and Clermont,
1997
), P. pastoris Golgi stacks are separate from one
another. Golgi tubules are seen on the C2 and C3 cisternae (Figures
8 and
9), but these tubules tend to
be relatively short, and they do not provide lumenal connections between
either homologous or heterologous cisternae. These results argue against
models for intra-Golgi transport that invoke membrane continuities between
cisternae (Beznoussenko and Mironov,
2002
).
P. pastoris Golgi Cisternae Show Properties Suggestive of Cisternal
Maturation
Each cisterna of a P. pastoris Golgi stack exhibits distinct
characteristics, and these characteristics change progressively across the
stack. Such a pattern fits with multiple models for intra-Golgi trafficking.
However, the cisternal maturation model makes specific predictions that can be
tested by electron microscopy. One prediction is that many resident Golgi
proteins should not be confined to individual cisternae, but should show
gradients of distribution across the stack
(Glick et al., 1997
;
Weiss and Nilsson, 2000
). A
second prediction is that the morphological variations between cisternae
should be consistent with a precursorproduct relationship.
Resident Golgi protein distributions in P. pastoris were analyzed
by immunolocalizing the membrane-anchored mannosyltransferase Och1p and the
peripheral membrane protein Sec7p. Och1p and Sec7p have previously been
reported to be cis and trans-Golgi markers, respectively,
based on fluorescence microscopy and biochemical data
(Franzusoff et al.,
1991
; Nakayama et
al., 1992
; Gaynor et
al., 1994
; Harris and
Waters, 1996
; Rossanese et
al., 1999
). Herein, we show by electron microscopy that Och1p
localizes predominantly to C1 and C2 cisternae, whereas Sec7p localizes
predominantly to C3 and TGN cisternae (Figures
4 and
11, C and D). This
compartmentation of the P. pastoris Golgi is similar to that
described for the Golgi of S. cerevisiae, mammalian and plant cells
(Staehelin et al.,
1990
; Farquhar and Palade,
1998
; Brigance et al.,
2000
). As predicted by the cisternal maturation model, the marker
proteins are not confined to single cisternae, but rather are distributed
across the entire Golgi with concentration peaks at opposite sides of the
stacks (Figure 4). This pattern
resembles the distribution profiles of Golgi glycosyltransferases in mammalian
cells (Nilsson et al.,
1993
; Rabouille et
al., 1995
).
To analyze morphological variations in P. pastoris Golgi
cisternae, we focused on fenestration patterns. Golgi fenestrae are generated
by an unknown mechanism that has been postulated to involve either
"periplasmic fusion" of the lumenal surfaces of cisternal
membranes (Rothman and Warren,
1994
) or fusion of Golgi tubules with their parental cisternae
(Weidman et al.,
1993
). In P. pastoris, fenestrae are absent from the C1
cisternae but are present in the C2, C3, and TGN cisternae (Figures
2 and
9). The fenestrae remain
roughly constant in number from the C2 through TGN cisternae, but their
distribution progressively changes. In the C2 cisternae, fenestrae are found
in a narrow ring near the cisternal rims; in the C3 cisternae, this ring is
wider but the cisternal centers remain largely devoid of fenestrae; and in the
TGN cisternae, fenestrae are evenly distributed
(Figure 9). This result
suggests that Golgi fenestrae in P. pastoris form at the rims of the
cisternae and then migrate inward as the cisternae mature.
P. pastoris Golgi Stacks Seem to Shed TGN Cisternae
Some of our most striking electron micrographs seem to capture different
stages in the release of intact TGN cisternae from P. pastoris Golgi
stacks (Figures 1,
10, and
11). We propose that after a
TGN cisterna is released from a Golgi stack, it becomes a ff-TGN in the
cytoplasm (Figures 11,
12,
13). The shedding of TGN
cisternae was recently confirmed in a videomicroscopy study of living P.
pastoris cells expressing a Sec7p-DsRed fusion protein
(Bevis et al., 2002
).
TGN shedding is consistent with the cisternal maturation model, which posits
that a TGN cisterna must be removed for every new cisterna that is added to
the cis side of the stack (Glick
et al., 1997
). Images consistent with TGN shedding have
previously been obtained with other cell types
(Mollenhauer and Morré,
1991
), but our work goes further by showing that Sec7p is present
both on Golgi stack-associated TGN cisternae and on ff-TGNs, strongly
suggesting that Golgi stacks give rise to ff-TGNs.
One or two ff-TGN cisternae are found in the vicinity of each tER-Golgi
unit, implying that ff-TGNs persist for at least as long as it takes to create
a new cis cisterna. After their release from the Golgi stacks,
ff-TGNs presumably mature into secretory carriers. This event may trigger
active translocation of the ff-TGNs toward regions of polarized growth
(Bevis et al., 2002
).
As they mature, ff-TGNs produce vesicles that seem to be clathrin-coated
(Figure 13). To our knowledge,
this result is the first reported visualization of an organellar site for
clathrin-coated vesicle budding in yeast. We have observed clathrin-coated
vesicles budding only from ff-TGNs, never from Golgi stack-associated TGN
cisternae (Figure 13). This
specialization is reminiscent of the NRK cell Golgi, in which clathrin-coated
vesicles bud exclusively from the trans-most C7 cisternae and not
from the adjacent C6 cisternae (Ladinsky
et al., 1999
). Based on these findings, we postulate that
ff-TGNs are major sites for cargo sorting and packaging in P.
pastoris. Our work is consistent with genetic data from S.
cerevisiae showing that clathrin functions in export from the TGN and/or
recycling from a post-TGN compartment
(Costaguta et al.,
2001
; Deloche et al.,
2001
; Pelham,
2002
; Valdivia et
al., 2002
;).
When TGN cisternae are released from the stacks, they must "escape" from the ribosome-excluding Golgi matrix. This release seems to involve a breakdown of the matrix at the trans side of the stacks, as evidenced by the penetration of ribosomes into the space between the C3 and TGN cisternae (Figures 1, 11, and 15). Disassembly of the Golgi matrix may therefore control the release of TGN cisternae.
Cross-Species Comparisons Highlight Conserved and Nonconserved
Features of the tER-Golgi System
Comparisons between species have frequently offered insights into Golgi
organization and dynamics (Mollenhauer and
Morré, 1991
; Munro,
2002
). The data reported herein for P. pastoris can be
combined with previous work, particularly tomographic studies of NRK cells
(Ladinsky et al.,
1999
), to distinguish between conserved and nonconserved features
of the Golgi.
Golgi stacks show a compositional polarity in every species examined. Some
aspects of this polarity are statistical in nature, because resident Golgi
proteins tend to be distributed in overlapping gradients of concentration
across the stack rather than being restricted to specific cisternae
(Rabouille et al.,
1995
). However, sharper boundaries are seen for the distribution
of coat proteins. In both NRK cells and P. pastoris, budding COPI
vesicles are restricted to the cis through trans cisternae
of the Golgi stack, whereas budding clathrin-coated vesicles are restricted to
the most distal TGN compartment (Ladinsky
et al., 1999
). Within the framework of the cisternal
maturation model, this observation suggests that a rapid functional switch
occurs during the conversion of a trans to a TGN cisterna.
Certain structural properties of the Golgi are also conserved. An example
is the fenestration of Golgi cisternae. Unlike the Golgi fenestrae in P.
pastoris, the Golgi fenestrae in NRK cells are more prevalent in
cis and trans than in medial cisternae, and they are
frequently aligned from one cisterna to the next
(Ladinsky et al.,
1999
), suggesting that the processes controlling Golgi
fenestration are somewhat different in the two species. Regardless of their
origin, the widespread occurrence of Golgi fenestrae suggests that they are
important for Golgi function. We have previously suggested that fenestrae may
serve as "spot welds" to prevent the cisternae from swelling
(Ladinsky et al.,
1999
).
A comparison of Golgi structures in P. pastoris and mammalian
cells also reveals key differences. For example, the Golgi stacks in mammalian
cells are laterally interconnected to form a ribbon (Rambourg et al.,
1997; Ladinsky et al.,
1999
), whereas P. pastoris Golgi stacks are individual
units. Moreover, ER membranes in mammalian cells are intimately associated
with Golgi cisternae at the trans side of the stack (Rambourg et
al., 1997; Ladinsky et al.,
1999
; Marsh et al.,
2001
), but no such association is seen in P. pastoris.
These results suggest that interstack connections and associations between the
ER and the trans-Golgi are cell type-specific phenomena that are not
essential for basic Golgi function. Other differences between the mammalian
Golgi and the P. pastoris Golgi are quantitative rather than
qualitative. Most notably, NRK cell Golgi stacks have seven cisternae
(Ladinsky et al.,
1999
), whereas P. pastoris Golgi stacks have three to
four cisternae. It is attractive to speculate that in all eukaryotes, Golgi
cisternae pass through four biochemically distinct stages of maturation that
can be defined as cis, medial, trans, and TGN. In this
scenario, P. pastoris contains a "minimal" Golgi that has
all of the standard machinery but few of the optional features.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| Footnotes |
|---|
Online version of this article contains video material for some figures.
Online version available at
www.molbiolcell.org. ![]()
S. Mogelsuang and N. Gomez-Ospina contributed equally to this work. ![]()
Corresponding author. E-mail address:
soren.mogelsvang{at}uchsc.edu.
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