Abstract

Most membrane-bound organelles have elaborate, dynamic shapes and often include regions with distinct morphologies. These complex structures are relatively conserved throughout evolution, which indicates that they are important for optimal organelle function. Various mechanisms of determining organelle shape have been proposed — proteins that stabilize highly curved membranes, the tethering of organelles to other cellular components and the regulation of membrane fission and fusion might all contribute.

Author affiliations

1. Gia K. Voeltz is at the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
   Email: gia.voeltz@colorado.edu
2. William A. Prinz is at the Laboratory of Cell Biochemistry and Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
   Email: wprinz@helix.nih.gov

Published online 7 February 2007

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