Protein-protein and protein-membrane interactions play a critical role in shaping biological membranes through direct physical contact with the membrane surface. This is particularly evident in many steps of membrane trafficking, in which proteins deform the membrane and induce fission to form transport carriers. The small GTPase Arf1 and related proteins have the ability to remodel membranes by insertion of an amphipathic helix into the membrane. Arf1 and the exomer cargo adaptor coordinate cargo sorting into subset of secretory vesicle carriers in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we detail the assays we used to explore the cooperative action of Arf1 and exomer to bind and remodel membranes. We expect these methods are broadly applicable to other small GTPase/effector systems where investigation of membrane binding and remodeling is of interest.
Keywords: Arf1; Cargo adaptor; Coat protein; GTPase; Membrane binding; Membrane fission; Membrane remodeling; Membrane scission; Membrane trafficking.