Actin in yeast and the mechanism of endocytosisActively growing budding yeast contains three distinct actin structures that are visible by fluorescence microscopy of Rhodamine-phalloidin-stained cells: cortical actin patches, which are now thought to represent sites of endocytosis; actin cables, which are crucial for polarity and for movement of exocytic vesicles; and a contractile actin ring, which plays a role in cytokinesis (Adams and Pringle, 1984).The first evidence linking actin to the endocytic process was published 13 years ago. A genetic screen for yeast mutants exhibiting defective uptake of a fluid-phase marker revealed Increasing evidence from a variety of cell types has highlighted the importance of the actin cytoskeleton during endocytosis. No longer is actin viewed as a passive barrier that must be removed to allow endocytosis to proceed. Rather, actin structures are dynamically organised to assist the remodelling of the cell surface to allow inward movement of vesicles. The majority of our mechanistic insight into the role of actin in endocytosis has come from studies in budding yeast. Although endocytosis in mammalian cells is clearly more complex and subject to a greater array of regulatory signals, recent advances have revealed actin, and actin-regulatory proteins, to be present at endocytic sites. Furthermore, live cell imaging indicates that spatiotemporal aspects of actin recruitment and vesicle formation are likely to be conserved across eukaryotic evolution.