This gene is located in the surfeit gene cluster, which is
comprised of very tightly linked housekeeping genes that do not
share sequence similarity. The encoded protein is a conserved
integral membrane protein containing multiple putative
transmembrane regions. In eukaryotic cells, protein transport
between the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi compartments is
mediated in part by non-clathrin-coated vesicular coat proteins
(COPs). The specific function of this protein has not been
determined but its yeast homolog is directly required for packaging
glycosylated pro-alpha-factor into COPII vesicles. This gene uses
multiple polyadenylation sites, resulting in transcript length
variation. The existence of alternatively spliced transcript
variants has been suggested, but their validity has not been
determined.
