Crystal structure of inactive form of Rab3B.

Rab proteins are the largest family of ras-related GTPases in eukaryotic cells. They act as directional molecular switches at membrane trafficking, including vesicle budding, cargo sorting, transport, tethering, and fusion. Here, we generated and crystallized the Rab3B:GDP complex. The structure of the complex was solved to 1.9Å resolution and the structural base comparison with other Rab3 members provides a structural basis for the GDP/GTP switch in controlling the activity of small GTPase. The comparison of charge distribution among the members of Rab3 also indicates their different roles in vesicular trafficking.