ProjectMembrane curvature is a cellular signal
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In 2003, we showed that the disassembly of the COPI protein coat is extremely sensitive to membrane curvature. Subsequently, we identified a membrane curvature sensor in ArfGAP1, a regulator of COPI. This sensor, which we named the ALPS motif, is present in proteins with different functions, suggesting that membrane curvature is a form of cellular information. It helps to organize various reactions at the surface of organelles. We are continuing these studies by determining how curvature combines with other physicochemical characteristics of membranes to control reactions at the surface of organelles, such as the attachment of transport vesicles around the Golgi apparatus.
Membrane curvature allows for the spatiotemporal organization of biochemical reactions.