clathrin coat

GO:0030118 · Other · Multiprotein complex · Proposed

A membrane coat found on coated pits and some coated vesicles; consists of polymerized clathrin triskelions, each comprising three clathrin heavy chains and three clathrin light chains, linked to the membrane via one of the AP adaptor complexes. [GO:0030118]

Synonyms: clathrin cage

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Stoichiometry	Essential	Role
clathrin triskelion scaffold	Protein complex	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)			UNKNOWN	Polymerized three-legged clathrin heavy-chain and light-chain complexes that build the clathrin coat lattice. `GO:0030118` GO:0030118 defines clathrin coats as membrane coats made from polymerized clathrin triskelions.
AP-type clathrin adaptor complexes	Protein complex	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)			UNKNOWN	Adaptor complexes that connect polymerized clathrin to membrane surfaces and cargo during clathrin-coat assembly. `GO:0030118` GO:0030118 frames clathrin coats as clathrin triskelions linked to membranes through AP adaptor complexes. `GO:0030119` GO:0030119 defines AP-type membrane coat adaptor complexes as membrane-coat complexes that link clathrin or another coat-forming molecule to a membrane surface.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — COMMON: Budding yeast has clathrin and adaptor proteins that are recruited to cortical actin-based endocytic sites. [DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2005.04.014]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — Budding-yeast model in which fluorescently tagged clathrin and adaptor proteins established the timing of clathrin recruitment to actin-based endocytic sites. [DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2005.04.014]

Functions

clathrin-dependent endocytosis GO:0072583 — Clathrin coats participate in clathrin-dependent endocytosis by organizing coated pits and clathrin-coated endocytic vesicles.
- GO:0072583 GO:0072583 denotes endocytosis through clathrin-coated pits that form clathrin-coated endocytic vesicles.
- DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2005.09.024 Kaksonen, Toret and Drubin 2005 analyzed the modular clathrin- and actin-mediated endocytic machinery in yeast.

Mechanism graphs

Clathrin triskelions and adaptors form a membrane coat (ASSEMBLY)

A clathrin coat is a clathrin triskelion lattice connected to a membrane through AP-type adaptor complexes.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
clathrin triskelion scaffold	polymerizes into	clathrin coat	`GO:0030118` GO:0030118 defines clathrin coats as membrane coats made from polymerized clathrin triskelions.
AP-type clathrin adaptor complexes	links scaffold to	membrane surface	`GO:0030118` GO:0030118 defines clathrin coats as clathrin triskelions linked to membranes through one of the AP adaptor complexes. `GO:0030119` GO:0030119 defines AP-type membrane coat adaptor complexes.
AP-type clathrin adaptor complexes	is part of	clathrin coat	`GO:0030118` GO:0030118 defines clathrin coats as triskelion lattices linked to the membrane by AP adaptor complexes.
clathrin coat	is a	membrane coat	`GO:0030118` GO places the clathrin coat directly under the membrane-coat parent.
clathrin coat	participates in	clathrin-dependent endocytosis	`GO:0072583` GO:0072583 describes endocytosis through clathrin-coated pits that form clathrin-coated endocytic vesicles. `DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2005.09.024` Kaksonen, Toret and Drubin 2005 analyzed the yeast clathrin- and actin-mediated endocytic machinery.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (RESOLVED): Keep clathrin coat broader than the clathrin vesicle coat. GO:0030118 is the clathrin-specific membrane-coat parent for clathrin coats on coated pits and some coated vesicles. GO:0030125 is a narrower child restricted to vesicles, so this record is a direct membrane-coat child rather than a duplicate of the clathrin vesicle coat.
CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral groundings for clathrin triskelions and AP-type clathrin adaptor complexes. This first clathrin-coat parent record keeps the triskelion and AP adaptor entries at a reviewed label level instead of forcing a subtype-specific Complex Portal, InterPro, Pfam, or NCBIfam grounding onto the entire clathrin-coat class.

Evidence

GO:0030118 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for clathrin coats.
GO:0030117 Gene Ontology cellular-component parent term for membrane coats.
GO:0030125 Gene Ontology child term for clathrin coats found on vesicles.
GO:0030132 Gene Ontology child term for clathrin coats of coated pits.
GO:0030119 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for AP-type membrane coat adaptor complexes.
GO:0072583 Gene Ontology biological-process term for clathrin-dependent endocytosis.
DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2005.04.014 Newpher et al. 2005, In Vivo Dynamics of Clathrin and Its Adaptor-Dependent Recruitment to the Actin-Based Endocytic Machinery in Yeast, Developmental Cell.
DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2005.09.024 Kaksonen, Toret and Drubin 2005, A Modular Design for the Clathrin- and Actin-Mediated Endocytosis Machinery, Cell.

Curation history

2026-09-16T11:26:40Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-16T11:27:41Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added membrane-coat parentage, the GO exact synonym, reviewed-label-only triskelion and AP-type adaptor components, Saccharomyces endocytic-site scope, clathrin-dependent endocytosis, GO/DOI evidence, a nonmechanistic clathrin-coat topology graph, and boundary plus grounding discussions.
2026-09-16T11:38:59Z codex · ADDRESSED_PR_REVIEW — Resolved PR #1090 review issue #1091 by narrowing the AP-type clathrin adaptor grounding note to AP-family heterotetrameric adaptor complexes.

Source: data/structures/other/clathrin_coat.yaml