title: Embracing the void--how much do we really know about targeting and translocation to the endoplasmic reticulum?
abstract: In order for a protein to enter the secretory pathway, two crucial steps must occur: it first needs to be targeted to the cytosolic surface of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and then be translocated across the ER membrane. Although for many years studies of targeting focused on the signal recognition particle, recent findings reveal that several alternative targeting pathways exist, some still undescribed, and some only recently elucidated. In addition, many genes implicated in the translocation step have not been assigned a specific function. Here, we will focus on the open questions regarding ER targeting and translocation, and discuss how combining classical biochemistry with systematic approaches can promote our understanding of these essential cellular steps.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
authors.forename: Naama
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aviram
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel. Electronic address: maya.schuldiner@weizmann.ac.il.
authors.forename: Maya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schuldiner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins