Diffusion of exit sites on the endoplasmic reticulum – a random walk on a shivering backbone

Major parts of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in eukaryotic cells are organized as a dynamic network of membrane tubules connected by three-way junctions. On this network, self-assembled membrane domains, called ER exit sites (ERES), provide platforms at which nascent cargo proteins are packaged into vesicular carriers for subsequent transport along the secretory pathway. While ERES appear stationary and spatially confined on long time scales, we show here via single-particle tracking that they exhibit a microtubule-dependent anomalous diffusion behavior on short and intermediate time scales. By quantifying key parameters of their random walk, we show that the subdiffusive motion of ERES is distinct from that of ER junctions, i.e. ERES are not tied to junctions but rather are mobile on ER tubules. We complement and corroborate our experimental findings with model simulations that also indicate that ERES are not actively moved by microtubules. Altogether, our study shows that ERES perform a random walk on the shivering ER backbone, indirectly powered by microtubular activity. Similar phenomena can be expected for other domains on subcellular structures, setting a caveat for the interpretation of domain tracking data.