Conserved SMP domains of the ERMES complex bind phospholipids and mediate tether assembly

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In a new PNAS article, members of the UCLA-DOE Institute, Andrew AhYoung, Pascal Egea, and Joseph Loo, together with Jiansen Jiang, Jiang Zhang, and Hong Zhou,  have offered further elucidation on the structure and function of the conserved SMP domains in the ERMES complex.

The new article asserts the roles played by conserved SMP domains of ERMES in the tethering of mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum membranes and the essential exchange of phosholipids, such as phosphatidylcholines, between the two organelles.

PNAS link: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=26056272

PubMED link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26056272#