During skeletal muscle development, myoblasts fuse to form multinucleated myofibers. Myomaker [Transmembrane protein 8c (TMEM8c)] is a muscle-specific protein that is essential for myoblast fusion and sufficient to promote fusion of fibroblasts with muscle cells; however, the structure and biochemical properties of this membrane protein have not been explored. Here, we used CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis to disrupt myomaker expression in the C2C12 muscle cell line, which resulted in complete blockade to fusion. To define the functional domains of myomaker required to direct fusion, we established a heterologous cell-cell fusion system, in which fibroblasts expressing mutant versions of myomaker were mixed with WT myoblasts. Our data indicate that the majority of myomaker is embedded in the plasma membrane with seven membrane-spanning regions and a required intracellular C-terminal tail. We show that myomaker function is conserved in other mammalian orthologs; however, related family members (TMEM8a and TMEM8b) do not exhibit fusogenic activity. These findings represent an important step toward deciphering the cellular components and mechanisms that control myoblast fusion and muscle formation.P lasma membrane fusion is a fundamental cellular process required for the conception, development, and physiology of multicellular organisms. Membrane fusion occurs during viral infection of a host cell, between intracellular membranes, and between two plasma membranes to form syncytial tissues (1). Cell-cell fusion is critical for a wide array of cellular processes, including sperm-egg fertilization, macrophage function, bone and placental development, and skeletal muscle formation. This form of fusion must be precisely controlled to prevent inappropriate cellular mixing.The fusion of myoblasts requires cell recognition, migration, adhesion, signaling, and finally, membrane coalescence (2). Much of our knowledge about myoblast fusion has originated from studies performed in Drosophila. In this system, intracellular signaling results in cytoskeletal alterations and actin polymerization, which drive the formation of cellular projections that invade neighboring cells to cause fusion (3). Recent evidence also indicates a critical function for branched actin polymerization during Drosophila indirect flight muscle fusion (4). The essential role of the cytoskeleton in fusion is conserved in mammals, in which the actin regulators Rac1, cdc42, and N-WASp are required for muscle development (5-8). In addition to actin dynamics, numerous proteins that regulate diverse cellular processes have been associated with myoblast fusion (9-13).We recently discovered a muscle-specific membrane protein named myomaker [annotated as Transmembrane protein 8c (TMEM8c)] that is absolutely required for skeletal myocyte fusion in the mouse (14,15). To begin to decipher the mechanisms whereby myomaker controls cell-cell fusion, we designed a heterologous cell-cell fusion assay to monitor the ability of a series of myomaker mutants to direct the fusion of lab...