Syntaxin-16, a putative Golgi t-SNARE

Members of the syntaxin family of integral membrane proteins have recently been implicated as vesicle receptors on target membranes, coresponsible for the specificity of intracellular membrane traffic. So far, only a small number of different mammalian syntaxins have been identified. Here we report the cloning of three new human syntaxin cDNAs, presumably originating from alternative splicing of the same transcript. Syntaxin-16A and syntaxin-16B are identical, except that the latter contains an insertion of 21 amino acid residues. Syntaxin-16C is a truncated version of syntaxin-16A, lacking the C-terminal coiled-coil and hydrophobic regions characteristic for syntaxins. Database searches identified putative yeast, plant and nematode homologues of syntaxin-16, indicating that this protein is conserved through evolution, and syntaxin-16 belongs to a new subgroup of syntaxins. Epitope-tagged syntaxin-16A and syntaxin-16B were found to colocalize with the Golgi marker beta-COP, while syntaxin-16C was found in the cytosol. Syntaxin-16A associates posttranslationally with microsomes, and appears to be transported to the Golgi via the endoplasmic reticulum. The three syntaxin-16 forms may have differential roles in intracellular trafficking.