Principle of duality in phospholipids: regulators of membrane morphology and dynamics.

To suggest and develop intelligent strategies to comprehend the regulation of organelle formation, a deeper mechanistic interpretation requires more than just the involvement of proteins. Our approaches link the formation of endomembranes with both signalling and membrane physical properties. Hitherto, membrane morphology, local physical structure and signalling have not been well integrated.

A structural role for lipids in organelle shaping.

The importance of proteins in shaping the membranes that define the perimeters of organelles is well documented. By forming cross-links, motors, or scaffolds or by inserting into membranes, proteins can harness energy to deform membranes, particularly when high degrees of curvature are necessitated-as in small membrane vesicles, tubules of the endoplasmic reticulum, the edges of endoplasmic reticulum sheets or Golgi apparatus cisternae, and membrane fusion intermediates (stalks). Here we propose that membrane lipids displaying negative curvature act in concert with membrane proteins to contribute to the alteration and maintenance of bending in biological membranes.