We recently identified a class of membrane proteins, the reticulons and DP1/Yop1p, which
shape the tubular endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in yeast and mammalian cells. These proteins
are highly enriched in the tubular portions of the ER and virtually excluded from other
regions. To understand how they promote tubule formation, we characterized their behavior
in cellular membranes and addressed how their localization in the ER is determined. Using
fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, we found that yeast Rtn1p and Yop1p are less …