Novel Components of the Stress Assembly Sec Body Identified by Proximity Labeling

Sec bodies are membraneless stress-induced assemblies that form by the coalescence of endoplasmic reticulum exit sites (ERES). Through APEX2 tagging of Sec24AB, we biotinylated and identified the full complement of Sec body proteins. In the presence of biotin-phenol and H₂O₂ (APEX on), APEX2 facilitates the transfer of a biotin moiety to nearby interactors of chimeric Sec24AB. Using this unbiased approach comparing APEX on and off (−H₂O₂) conditions, we identified 52 proteins specifically enriched in Sec bodies. These include a large proportion of ER and Golgi proteins, packaged without defined stoichiometry, which we could selectively verify by imaging. Interestingly, Sec body components are neither transcriptionally nor translationally regulated under the conditions that induce Sec body formation, suggesting that incorporation of these proteins into granules may be driven instead by the aggregation of nucleating proteins with a high content of intrinsically disordered regions. This reinforces the notion that Sec bodies may act as storage for ERES, ER and Golgi components during stress.