The Participation of Regulatory Lipids in Vacuole Homotypic Fusion.

Matthew L Starr, Rutilio A Fratti

Journal: Trends in biochemical sciences 2019;44(6):546-554

PMID: 30587414

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Abstract

In eukaryotes, organelles and vesicles modulate their contents and identities through highly regulated membrane fusion events. Membrane trafficking and fusion are carried out through a series of stages that lead to the formation of SNARE complexes between cellular compartment membranes to trigger fusion. Although the protein catalysts of membrane fusion are well characterized, their response to their surrounding microenvironment, provided by the lipid composition of the membrane, remains to be fully understood. Membranes are composed of bulk lipids (e.g., phosphatidylcholine), as well as regulatory lipids that undergo constant modifications by kinases, phosphatases, and lipases. These lipids include phosphoinositides, diacylglycerol, phosphatidic acid, and cholesterol/ergosterol. Here we describe the roles of these lipids throughout the stages of yeast vacuole homotypic fusion.

Address: Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.; Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2018.12.003