Sharing a new in-depth review article on intrinsic lipid curvature and models of lipidome adaptation to the environment that I recently wrote with Jacob Winnikoff for Progress in Lipid Research (open access).

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

He then shows that fusing fluorogen sensors to either side of a transmembrane domain allows for imaging of leaflet-specific phospholipid distributions in the trans-Golgi network. He sees that asymmetry is generated at TGN vesicles and finds transporters and flippases that control this asymmetry.

Will shows that organelle targeted FAPs can be used to untangle the role of lipid transfer proteins in trafficking of phospholipids like PC across organelle contact sites, like those of the ER and mitochondria.

We collaborated with sterol and theory expert Alex Sodt at NICHD and his postdoc Laura Lopes Jacobs who built all-atom models for eqch intermediates. We were floored by how well their sims predicted key experimental results, like ordering of DMPC membranes.

Israel found that the pathway builds up to Lo (liquid) domains. Bud it does not do so monotonically: early sterols support domains but they are solid (bad for life). Then domain capacity vanishes. Then right at the end it returns - but now the domains are fluid and functional.

We wanted to test the Bloch hypothesis in the context of this function. We turned to yeast cells both because of the awesome power of yeast genetics but also because their vacuoles mebranes phase seperates into large domains that depend on sterols, just like giant liposomes!

Sterols like ergosterol or cholesterol are the most abundant lipids in eukaryotic cells. Yet they are made in painstakingly long synthetic routes. Why? Konrad Bloch proposed ~50 years ago that the pathways must continuously shape the sterol to better order phospholipids

Congrats to @jeremybaskin.bsky.social for receiving the ACS Chemical Biology young investigator award…plus organizing a fantastic session capped off with a tour de force talk on phosphatidic acid dynamics

Lipidic valentine's day cookies!

In times like these, gotta look at all the positives of your work, like when your wonderful student makes you this #lipidtime mug:

Nozomi presenting this textbook-redefining work to a spellbound audience in our department seminar a couple of weeks back:

No lies detected (@Wayne State)