03/09/2026
A new study in Aspergillus nidulans, led by the group of Miguel Peñalva and Eduardo Espeso at Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas - CSIC, provided an answer to the question of how the same molecular machinery controls different membrane trafficking pathways.
Link to the paper 🔗https://journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/139/16/jcs264822/372676/A-subcomplex-comprising-TRAPPC11-TRAPPC12-TRAPPC13
Pinar et al. reveal how TRAPP complexes are assembled into distinct subcomplexes to specify their cellular functions, with Tca17 acting as a key determinant of TRAPP identity and physiological role. The authors have also identified two forms of TRAPPIII and show that the TRAPPIII complex containing TRAPPC11/12/13 is specifically associated with autophagy.
Beyond providing new insights into the organization and function of TRAPP complexes, the work highlights A. nidulans as a genetically tractable system to investigate the functional consequences of mutations in human TRAPPC11/12/13, several of which are associated with human disease. Understanding how trafficking machinery is assembled may help us understand how its dysfunction leads to disease.
