A Snare-Adaptor Interaction is a New Mode of Cargo Recognition in Clathrin Coated Vesicles

The crystal structure of a SNARE protein bound to a clathrin adaptor is reported, which reveals that there is highly specific interactions between two folded domains as opposed to the linear peptide motif or folded domains that have been described for other families of cargo proteins. This is the first example of a SNARE association with a clathrin adaptor and describes a novel mechanism by which cargo can be recruited into clathrin coated vesicles.