nuclear pore linkers

GO:0044612 · Other · Multiprotein complex · Proposed

A eukaryotic nuclear pore substructure made of linker nucleoporins that connect central transport-channel FG nucleoporins with core nuclear-pore scaffold modules. [GO:0044612]

Synonyms: linker Nups

Part of: nuclear pore (GO:0005643)

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
Nic96/Nup93-family linker nucleoporin	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	NIC96	UNKNOWN	Linker nucleoporin family represented in fungal nuclear-pore subcomplexes that connect scaffold rings with FG-channel and outer-ring modules. `DOI:10.1038/nsmb.3084` Fischer et al. 2015 studied linker Nups that connect inner-ring, outer-ring, and transport-channel NPC modules. `DOI:10.1126/science.abm9798` Petrovic et al. 2022 resolved a nuclear-pore linker-scaffold architecture at higher resolution.
Nup53/Nup59-family linker nucleoporin	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	NUP53, NUP59	UNKNOWN	Linker nucleoporin family represented in fungal nuclear-pore subcomplexes that connect scaffold rings with FG-channel and outer-ring modules. `DOI:10.1038/nsmb.3084` Fischer et al. 2015 studied linker Nups that connect inner-ring, outer-ring, and transport-channel NPC modules. `DOI:10.1126/science.abm9798` Petrovic et al. 2022 resolved a nuclear-pore linker-scaffold architecture at higher resolution.
Nup145N/Nup98-family linker nucleoporin	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	NUP145	UNKNOWN	N-terminal Nup145/Nup98 cleavage-product family that acts as a linker nucleoporin in fungal nuclear-pore subcomplexes. `DOI:10.1038/nsmb.3084` Fischer et al. 2015 studied linker Nups that connect inner-ring, outer-ring, and transport-channel NPC modules. `DOI:10.1126/science.abm9798` Petrovic et al. 2022 resolved a nuclear-pore linker-scaffold architecture at higher resolution.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:4890 Ascomycota — VARIABLE: Linker-Nup interactions have been characterized in budding yeast and a thermophilic ascomycete, establishing this module in sampled ascomycete nuclear pores without proving uniform phylum-wide composition. [DOI:10.1038/nsmb.3084]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — Budding-yeast model in which linker densities were placed between inner-ring and outer-ring scaffold modules in multiscale NPC structures. [DOI:10.1016/j.molcel.2023.08.025]

Functions

nuclear-pore module linking — Nuclear pore linkers bridge central FG-channel, inner-ring, and outer-ring scaffold modules.
- DOI:10.1038/nsmb.3084 Fischer et al. 2015 studied how linker Nups connect the inner ring with the outer ring and transport channel.
- DOI:10.1126/science.abm9798 Petrovic et al. 2022 determined the architecture of the NPC linker scaffold.

Mechanism graphs

Linker Nups bridge NPC scaffold modules (ASSEMBLY)

Conserved linker nucleoporin families contribute to subcomplexes that connect inner-ring, outer-ring, and central-channel modules of the nuclear pore.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
Nic96/Nup93-family linker nucleoporin	contributes to	nuclear pore linkers	`DOI:10.1038/nsmb.3084` Fischer et al. 2015 mapped linker nucleoporins between the NPC inner ring, outer ring, and transport channel.
Nup53/Nup59-family linker nucleoporin	contributes to	nuclear pore linkers	`DOI:10.1038/nsmb.3084` Fischer et al. 2015 mapped linker nucleoporins between the NPC inner ring, outer ring, and transport channel.
Nup145N/Nup98-family linker nucleoporin	contributes to	nuclear pore linkers	`DOI:10.1038/nsmb.3084` Fischer et al. 2015 mapped linker nucleoporins between the NPC inner ring, outer ring, and transport channel.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral family groundings for Nic96/Nup93, Nup53/Nup59, and Nup145N/Nup98 linker nucleoporins. This record deliberately avoids guessing one exact InterPro, Pfam, or NCBIfam accession for linker classes whose names, paralog boundaries, and FG-repeat regions differ between budding yeast, other fungi, and metazoans.
CURATION_TODO (RESOLVED): Keep the Nup145N/Nup98 linker class distinct from the Nup145C/Nup96 outer-ring product. The Saccharomyces NUP145 gene encodes a precursor that produces both Nup145N and Nup145C. This record models only the N-terminal linker Nup; the C-terminal product belongs to the Nup84/Y-complex outer ring.

Evidence

GO:0044612 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for nuclear pore linkers.
GO:0005643 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the nuclear pore.
DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2011.06.039 Amlacher et al. 2011, 'Insight into Structure and Assembly of the Nuclear Pore Complex by Utilizing the Genome of a Eukaryotic Thermophile', Cell.
DOI:10.1038/nsmb.3084 Fischer et al. 2015, 'Linker Nups connect the nuclear pore complex inner ring with the outer ring and transport channel', Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.
DOI:10.1126/science.abm9798 Petrovic et al. 2022, 'Architecture of the linker-scaffold in the nuclear pore', Science.
DOI:10.1016/j.molcel.2023.08.025 Akey et al. 2023, 'Implications of a multiscale structure of the yeast nuclear pore complex', Molecular Cell.

Curation history

2026-09-11T07:30:41Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-11T07:32:10Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added linker-Nup synonymy, nuclear-pore parthood, three linker nucleoporin component classes, fungal taxonomic scope, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae example, module-linking function, DOI/GO evidence, a conservative linker assembly graph, and a linker-Nup grounding TODO.
2026-09-11T07:40:58Z codex · ADDRESSED_REVIEW — Resolved #437 and #438 by narrowing the fungal taxonomic row to sampled ascomycete linker-Nup evidence, scoping Nup145N to the N-terminal linker cleavage product, and adding a resolved boundary discussion that separates Nup145N from outer-ring Nup145C.

Source: data/structures/other/nuclear_pore_linkers.yaml