InterPro domain: IPR004353

Members of this family have been called SAND proteins [ 1 ] although these proteins do not contain a SAND domain. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Mon1 is part of the Mon1-Ccz1 complex that acts as the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) of the yeast Rab7 GTPase Ypt7 [ 2 , 3 ]. The Mon1/Ccz1 complex is conserved in eukaryotic evolution and members of this family (previously known as DUF254) are distant homologues to domains of known structure that assemble into cargo vesicle adapter (AP) complexes [ 4 , 5 ].

1. Molecular characterisation of the SAND protein family: a study based on comparative genomics, structural bioinformatics and phylogeny. Cell. Mol. Biol. Lett. 9, 739-53
2. The Mon1-Ccz1 GEF activates the Rab7 GTPase Ypt7 via a longin-fold-Rab interface and association with PI3P-positive membranes. J. Cell. Sci. 127, 1043-51
3. Dynamic association of the PI3P-interacting Mon1-Ccz1 GEF with vacuoles is controlled through its phosphorylation by the type 1 casein kinase Yck3. Mol. Biol. Cell 25, 1608-19
4. Three receptor genes for plasminogen related growth factors in the genome of the puffer fish Fugu rubripes. FEBS Lett. 443, 370-4
5. Longin-like folds identified in CHiPS and DUF254 proteins: vesicle trafficking complexes conserved in eukaryotic evolution. Protein Sci. 15, 2669-74