A eukaryotic cell is composed of many different compartments (eg. nucleus, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, vacuole, endoplasmic reticulum). Each of these organelles is surrounded by a membrane, thus separating the inside of the organelle from the cytoplasm. Furthermore, each compartment contains its own unique protein and lipid composition. Material can be transferred between specific organelles by small vesicles that bud from one compartment and fuse with another compartment. Faulty sorting of this material leads to numerous human diorders and is a fundamental process in cell biology. The main question in our research is: how is the specificity in vesicle targeting ensured?
