Abstract Retromer is a master regulator of cargo retrieval from endosomes, which is critical for many cellular processes including signalling, immunity, neuroprotection and virus infection. To function in different trafficking routes, retromer core (VPS26/VPS29/VPS35) assembles with a range of sorting nexins to generate tubular carriers and incorporate assorted cargoes. We elucidate the structural basis of membrane remodelling and coupled cargo recognition by assembling metazoan and fungal retromer core trimers on cargo-containing membranes with sorting nexin adaptor SNX3 and determining their structures using cryo-electron tomography. Assembly leads to formation of tubular carriers in the absence of canonical membrane curvature drivers. Interfaces in the retromer coat provide a structural explanation for Parkinson’s disease-linked mutations. We demonstrate that retromer core trimer forms an invariant, evolutionarily-conserved scaffold that can incorporate different auxiliary membrane adaptors by changing its mode of membrane recruitment, so modulating membrane bending and cargo incorporation and thereby allowing retromer to traffic assorted cargoes along different cellular transport routes.

Architecture and mechanism of metazoan retromer:SNX3 tubular coat assembly