Sorting of Golgi resident proteins into different subpopulations of COPI vesicles: a role for ArfGAP1

We present evidence for two subpopulations of coatomer protein I vesicles, both containing high amounts of Golgi resident proteins but only minor amounts of anterograde cargo. Early Golgi proteins p24 alpha (2), beta (1), delta (1), and gamma (3) are shown to be sorted together into vesicles that are distinct from those containing mannosidase II, a glycosidase of the medial Golgi stack, and GS28, a SNARE protein of the Golgi stack. Sorting into each vesicle population is Arf-1 and GTP hydrolysis dependent and is inhibited by aluminum and beryllium fluoride. Using synthetic peptides, we find that the cytoplasmic domain of p24 beta (1) can bind Arf GTPase-activating protein (GAP)l and cause direct inhibition of ArfGAP1-mediated GTP hydrolysis on Arf-1 bound to liposomes and Golgi membranes. We propose a two-stage reaction to explain how GTP hydrolysis constitutes a prerequisite for sorting of resident proteins, yet becomes inhibited in their presence.