The Arf family GTPases are regulators of eukaryotic cellular organization, functioning in the secretory and endocytic pathways, in cilia and flagella, in cytoskeleton dynamics, and in lipid metabolism. We describe the evolution of this protein family and its well-studied regulators. The last eukaryotic common ancestor had fifteen members, and the current complement of Arf GTPases has been sculpted by gene loss and gene duplications since that point. Some Arf family GTPases (such as those that recruit vesicle coats in the secretory pathway) are present in virtually all eukaryotes, whereas others (such as those functioning in cilia/flagella) have a more limited distribution. A challenge for the future is understanding the full spectrum of Arf family functions throughout eukaryotes.

Department of Biology and Ecology Faculty of Science University of Ostrava Ostrava Czech Republic

Division of Infectious Disease Department of Medicine University of Alberta Edmonton AB T6G 2H7 Canada

Université Paris Cité CNRS Institut Jacques Monod F 75013 Paris France

Université Paris Saclay CEA CNRS Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell 91198 Gif sur Yvette France

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