Electron cryomicroscopy of the clathrin coat and X-ray crystallography of p
arts of the clathrin heavy chain combine to give a detailed picture of the
clathrin molecule, assembled as a cage. Recently determined domain structur
es of other components of the endocytic machinery, particularly the mu 2 su
bunit and the alpha-appendage domain of the AP2 adaptor complex, provide im
portant information on the sequence of recognition events involved in the d
ynamic process of clathrin coat assembly.