TatA and TatB generate a hydrophobic mismatch important for the function and assembly of the Tat translocon in Escherichia coli.

The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) system serves to translocate folded proteins across energy-transducing membranes in bacteria, archaea, plastids, and some mitochondria. In Escherichia coli, TatA, TatB, and TatC constitute functional translocons. TatA and TatB both possess an N-terminal transmembrane helix (TMH) followed by an amphipathic helix.

Where are those lipid nano rings?

Highly curved toroidal micelles with diameters as small as 100 nm have been successfully constructed by self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers. These structures may have potential applications in gene or drug delivery. Experimental observations suggest that toroidal micelles likely originate from spherical or disc-like micelles which are tricked into forming toroidal micelles upon external stimuli ('smart' materials).

Density Field Thermodynamic Integration (DFTI): A "Soft" Approach to Calculate the Free Energy of Surfactant Self-Assemblies.

Thermodynamic integration is one of the most established methods to quantify excess free energies between different metastable states. Excess intermolecular interactions in surfactant assemblies are on the scale of the energy of thermal fluctuations. Therefore, these materials can be deformed and topologically altered via relatively small mechanical stresses.

SNARE-mediated membrane fusion arrests at pore expansion to regulate the volume of an organelle.

Constitutive membrane fusion within eukaryotic cells is thought to be controlled at its initial steps, membrane tethering and SNARE complex assembly, and to rapidly proceed from there to full fusion. Although theory predicts that fusion pore expansion faces a major energy barrier and might hence be a rate-limiting and regulated step, corresponding states with non-expanding pores are difficult to assay and have remained elusive. Here, we show that vacuoles in living yeast are connected by a metastable, non-expanding, nanoscopic fusion pore.