Lysosomes are dynamic organelles that receive and degrade macromolecules from the
secretory, endocytic, autophagic and phagocytic membrane-trafficking pathways. Live-cell …

Eukaryogenesis, the origin of the eukaryotic cell, represents one of the fundamental
evolutionary transitions in the history of life on earth. This event, which is estimated to have …

The emergence of an endomembrane system was a crucial stage in the prokaryote-to-
eukaryote evolutionary transition. Recent genomic and molecular evolutionary analyses …

Proteins of the SNARE (soluble N-ethylmalemide–sensitive factor attachment protein
receptor) family are essential for the fusion of transport vesicles with an acceptor membrane …

SNARE proteins, known as membrane fusion proteins, play a primary role to mediate vesicle
fusion. Loss of function of the SNARE protein can lead to a variety of diseases. A method to …

The green plant lineage is the second major multicellular expansion among the eukaryotes,
arising from unicellular ancestors to produce the incredible diversity of morphologies and …

Background In membrane trafficking, the mechanisms ensuring vesicle fusion specificity
remain to be fully elucidated. Early models proposed that specificity was encoded entirely by …

The repertoire of biosynthetic enzymes found in an organism is an important clue for
elucidating the chemical structural variations of various compounds. In the case of fatty …

Cells are of only two kinds: bacteria, with DNA segregated by surface membrane motors,
dating back∼ 3.5 Gy; and eukaryotes, which evolved from bacteria, possibly as recently as …

The membrane-trafficking system is a defining facet of eukaryotic cells. The best-known
organelles and major protein families of this system are largely conserved across the vast …