Localization of Golgi-resident glycosyltransferases.

For many glycosyltransferases, the information that instructs Golgi localization is located within a relatively short sequence of amino acids in the N-termini of these proteins comprising: the cytoplasmic tail, the transmembrane spanning region, and the stem region (CTS). Also, one enzyme may be more reliant on a particular region in the CTS for its localization than another. The predominance of these integral membrane proteins in the Golgi has seen these enzymes become central players in the development of membrane trafficking models of transport within this organelle. It is now understood that the means by which the characteristic distributions of glycosyltransferases arise within the subcompartments of the Golgi is inextricably linked to the mechanisms that cells employ to direct the flow of proteins and lipids within this organelle.