Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Autophagosome biogenesis starts at the isolation membrane (also called the phagophore). Our understanding of the molecular processes that initiate the isolation membrane, the membrane sources from which this membrane originates and how it is expanded to the autophagosome membrane by autophagy-related (ATG) proteins and the vesicular trafficking machinery, is increasing.
Lipid droplets are intracellular organelles that store oil-based reserves of metabolic energy and components of membrane lipids. Basic biophysical principles of emulsions are important for lipid droplet biology, their formation, growth and shrinkage. Such mechanisms enable cells to use emulsified oil when required. The surfactant composition at the lipid droplet surface is crucial for homeostasis and protein targeting to their surfaces.
Chloroplasts are the ancestral members of the plastid organelle family. Their identity, division and biogenesis require the import of nucleus-encoded proteins and tight coordination between the organellar genetic system and the nucleocytosolic system. The ubiquitin–proteasome system also links plastid homeostasis and biogenesis to organismal development.
The control of peroxisome biogenesis by different mechanisms, includingde novogeneration or growth and fisson of existing peroxisomes, may be coordinated to control peroxisome size and number. Dissecting this process should aid our understanding of how peroxisome dynamics are regulated, with implications for peroxisome-related diseases.
The concept of allosteric interactions between topographically distinct sites, and the subsequent Monod-Wyman-Changeux model proposed in 1965 for the conformational change mediating them, arose around 50 years ago. Many classic regulatory proteins follow this model, which has been expanded and challenged over the years.