Spatial regulation of exocytosis and cell polarity: yeast as a model for animal cells

Exocytosis is the major mechanism by which new membrane components are delivered to the cell surface. In most, if not all, eukaryotic cells this is also a highly spatially regulated process that is tightly coordinated with the overall polarity of a cell. The Rho/Cdc42 family of GTPases and the lethal giant larvae/Sro7 family are two highly conserved families of proteins which appear to have dual functions both in cell polarity and exocytosis. Analysis of their functions has begun to unravel the coordination between these processes and propose a model for polarized vesicle docking and fusion at the site of asymmetric cell growth.