Glycosphingolipid synthesis requires FAPP2 transfer of glucosylceramide

The molecular machinery responsible for the generation of transport carriers moving from the Golgi complex to the plasma membrane relies on a tight interplay between proteins and lipids. Among the lipid-binding proteins of this machinery, we previously identified the four-phosphate adaptor protein FAPP2, the pleckstrin homology domain of which binds phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and the small GTPase ARF1. FAPP2 also possesses a glycolipid-transfer-protein homology domain. Here we show that human FAPP2 is a glucosylceramide-transfer protein that has a pivotal role in the synthesis of complex glycosphingolipids, key structural and signalling components of the plasma membrane. The requirement for FAPP2 makes the whole glycosphingolipid synthetic pathway sensitive to regulation by phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and ARF1. Thus, by coupling the synthesis of glycosphingolipids with their export to the cell surface, FAPP2 emerges as crucial in determining the lipid identity and composition of the plasma membrane.     

CtBP/BARS induces fission of Golgi membranes by acylating lysophosphatidic acid

Membrane fission is essential in intracellular transport. Acyl-coenzyme As (acyl-CoAs) are important in lipid remodelling and are required for fission of COPI-coated vesicles. Here we show that CtBP/BARS, a protein that functions in the dynamics of Golgi tubules, is an essential component of the fission machinery operating at Golgi tubular networks, including Golgi compartments involved in protein transport and sorting. CtBP/BARS-induced fission was preceded by the formation of constricted sites in Golgi tubules, whose extreme curvature is likely to involve local changes in the membrane lipid composition. We find that CtBP/BARS uses acyl-CoA to selectively catalyse the acylation of lysophosphatidic acid to phosphatidic acid both in pure lipidic systems and in Golgi membranes, and that this reaction is essential for fission. Our results indicate a key role for lipid metabolic pathways in membrane fission.     

高光谱数据组分信息的盲分解方法

将基于独立成分分析(independent component analysis,ICA)技术的盲分解方法(blind signal separation,BSS)应用于遥感混合像元的定量分解,解决了幅度不确定性问题,实现了从高光谱数据中同时得到定量的组分光谱信息和组分权重信息。通过数值模拟实验提出了光谱反演区间的选择方法,进一步完善了该算法,且讨论了算法的稳健性。以陕西省横山县为试验区,从HYPERION高光谱影像中反演了各像元的植被覆盖度,并利用SPOT5影像进行了精度验证,结果表明该方法具有较高的精度。