Dsl1/NZR complex

GO:0070939 · Other · Multiprotein complex · Proposed

A multisubunit tethering complex, i.e. a protein complex involved in mediating the initial interaction between vesicles and the membranes with which they fuse, that is involved in trafficking from the Golgi apparatus to the ER. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae the Dsl1p complex contains Dsl1p, Tip20p, and Sec39p. [GO:0070939]

Synonyms: Dsl1p complex; NZR complex; CATCHR family complex

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

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Essential	Role
Dsl1 Dsl1/NZR subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	DSL1	UNKNOWN	Dsl1p-complex subunit of the Golgi-to-ER retrograde tether. `DOI:10.1038/nsmb.1548` Tripathi, Ren, Jeffrey and Hughson 2009 described the yeast Dsl1p vesicle tethering complex as containing Dsl1p, Tip20p and Sec39p.
Tip20 Dsl1/NZR subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	TIP20	UNKNOWN	Dsl1p-complex subunit that binds Dsl1p and ER SNARE proteins. `DOI:10.1038/nsmb.1548` Tripathi, Ren, Jeffrey and Hughson 2009 described the yeast Dsl1p vesicle tethering complex as containing Dsl1p, Tip20p and Sec39p.
Sec39/Dsl3 Dsl1/NZR subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SEC39, DSL3	UNKNOWN	Dsl1p-complex subunit in the yeast Golgi-to-ER retrograde tether. `DOI:10.1038/nsmb.1548` Tripathi, Ren, Jeffrey and Hughson 2009 described the yeast Dsl1p vesicle tethering complex as containing Dsl1p, Tip20p and Sec39p. `DOI:10.1091/mbc.e05-01-0056` Kraynack et al. 2005 established that budding-yeast Dsl3p is Sec39p and associates with Dsl1p-complex subunits.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — COMMON: Budding yeast uses a Dsl1p complex containing Dsl1p, Tip20p and Sec39p during Golgi-to-endoplasmic-reticulum retrograde traffic. [DOI:10.1038/nsmb.1548]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — Budding-yeast model in which Dsl1p, Tip20p and Sec39p were structurally and biochemically characterized as Dsl1p-complex subunits. [DOI:10.1038/nsmb.1548]

Functions

retrograde vesicle-mediated transport, Golgi to endoplasmic reticulum GO:0006890 — Dsl1/NZR is an ER-resident tethering complex that mediates Golgi-to-endoplasmic-reticulum retrograde vesicle traffic.
- GO:0006890 GO:0006890 denotes vesicle-mediated retrograde transport from the Golgi apparatus back to the endoplasmic reticulum.
- DOI:10.1074/jbc.M110.215327 Meiringer et al. 2011 studied the Dsl1 tethering complex during retrograde vesicular transport from the Golgi to the ER.

Mechanism graphs

Dsl1/NZR supports yeast Golgi-to-ER retrograde tethering (FUNCTION)

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Dsl1p, Tip20p and Sec39p form the Dsl1p complex, an ER-resident tethering complex that supports COPI vesicle fusion with the endoplasmic reticulum.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
Dsl1 Dsl1/NZR subunit	is part of	Dsl1/NZR complex	`DOI:10.1038/nsmb.1548` Tripathi, Ren, Jeffrey and Hughson 2009 described the Dsl1p complex as a three-subunit tether with Dsl1p, Tip20p and Sec39p.
Tip20 Dsl1/NZR subunit	is part of	Dsl1/NZR complex	`DOI:10.1038/nsmb.1548` Tripathi, Ren, Jeffrey and Hughson 2009 described the Dsl1p complex as a three-subunit tether with Dsl1p, Tip20p and Sec39p.
Sec39/Dsl3 Dsl1/NZR subunit	is part of	Dsl1/NZR complex	`DOI:10.1038/nsmb.1548` Tripathi, Ren, Jeffrey and Hughson 2009 described the Dsl1p complex as a three-subunit tether with Dsl1p, Tip20p and Sec39p. `DOI:10.1091/mbc.e05-01-0056` Kraynack et al. 2005 identified Dsl3p as Sec39p and found Dsl3p associated with Dsl1p-complex subunits.
Dsl1/NZR complex	localizes to	endoplasmic reticulum	`DOI:10.1074/jbc.M110.215327` Meiringer et al. 2011 reported that the Dsl1 complex subunits are resident endoplasmic-reticulum proteins.
Dsl1/NZR complex	participates in	retrograde vesicle-mediated transport, Golgi to ER	`DOI:10.1038/nsmb.1548` Tripathi, Ren, Jeffrey and Hughson 2009 studied the Dsl1p complex as an essential Golgi-to-ER trafficking tether.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral InterPro, Pfam, or Complex Portal groundings for the three Dsl1/NZR subunit classes. The yeast literature names Dsl1p, Tip20p and Sec39p/Dsl3p as Dsl1p complex subunits, but this pass did not verify exact taxon-neutral family identifiers for those subunit classes.
CURATION_TODO (RESOLVED): Do not model ER SNAREs or COPI coat subunits as constituent Dsl1/NZR components. The Dsl1p complex interacts with ER SNAREs and with the incoming vesicle coat, but its constituent subunits are Dsl1p, Tip20p and Sec39p/Dsl3p.

Evidence

GO:0070939 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the Dsl1/NZR complex.
GO:0099023 Gene Ontology cellular-component parent term for vesicle tethering complexes.
GO:0006890 Gene Ontology biological-process term for Golgi-to-ER retrograde vesicle transport.
DOI:10.1038/nsmb.1548 Tripathi, Ren, Jeffrey and Hughson 2009, Structural characterization of Tip20p and Dsl1p, subunits of the Dsl1p vesicle tethering complex, Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.
DOI:10.1074/jbc.M110.215327 Meiringer et al. 2011, The Dsl1 protein tethering complex is a resident endoplasmic reticulum complex, which interacts with five soluble NSF (N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor) attachment protein receptors (SNAREs), Journal of Biological Chemistry.
DOI:10.1091/mbc.e05-01-0056 Kraynack et al. 2005, Dsl1p, Tip20p, and the novel Dsl3(Sec39) protein are required for the stability of the Q/t-SNARE complex at the endoplasmic reticulum in yeast, Molecular Biology of the Cell.

Curation history

2026-09-16T19:01:08Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-16T19:02:11Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added Dsl1/NZR synonymy, vesicle-tethering parentage, reviewed-label-only Dsl1/Tip20/Sec39-Dsl3 yeast components, Saccharomyces scope, a Golgi-to-ER retrograde-transport function, GO/DOI evidence, a nonmechanistic ER tethering graph, a subunit-grounding TODO, and a resolved SNARE/COPI boundary decision.
2026-09-16T19:12:05Z codex · ADDRESSED_PR_REVIEW — Resolved PR #1120 issue #1121 by adding Kraynack et al. 2005 evidence for the Sec39/Dsl3 alias and removing an unsupported alias from the taxonomic-distribution summary.

Source: data/structures/other/dsl1_nzr_complex.yaml