This text concentrates on the following specific topics: the dynamic character of lipids and proteins in biological membranes; the existence of specific domains in membranes including their visualisation; the molecular mechanisms of intracellular transport of membrane constituents and the involvement of lipid-protein interactions in these processes; protein assembly; structure and folding and transport through membranes; and the intracellular sorting and targeting of individual membrane components as well as different organelles. The volume starts with a detailed review of the biosynthesis of phospholipids, enravelled by advanced genetic approaches, and is followed by reviews of the specific intracellular routing of the various phospholipids, the arrangements in micro-domains in the membrane and the visualisation of these structures by atomic force microscopy. The role of lipids in protein sorting, routing, insertion and translocation through membranes is presented in several contributions.
Information on membrane protein structure and assembly can be found in two articles followed by a series of contributions dealing with the molecular mechanisms of protein insertion and translocation. Both the prokaryotic systems, dealing with insertion and translocation of proteins in relation to export, as well as eukaryotic mechanisms of intracellular translocation are discussed in relation to organelle biogenesis and in particular the mitochondrion caught attention. Finally, intracellular protein and organelle traffic is summarized in detail.