Membrane trafficking and processing in Paramecium

Cellular membranes are made in a cell's biosynthetic pathway and are composed of similar biochemical constituents. Nevertheless, they become differentiated as membrane components are sorted into different membrane-limited compartments. We summarize the morphological and immunological similarities and differences seen in the membranes of the various interacting compartments in the single-celled organism, Paramecium. Besides the biosynthetic pathway, membranes of the regulated secretory pathway, endocytic pathway, and phagocytic pathway are highlighted. Paramecium is a multipolarized cell in the sense that several different pools of membrane-limited compartments are targeted for exocytosis at very specific sites at the cell surface. Thus, the method used by this cell to sort and package its membrane subunits into different compartments, the processes used to transport these compartments to specific locations at the plasma membrane and to other intracellular fusion sites, the processes of membrane retrieval, and the processes of membrane docking and fusion are reviewed. Paramecium has provided an excellent model for studying the complexities of membrane trafficking in one cell using both morphological and immunocytochemical techniques. This cell also promises to be a useful model for studying aspects of the molecular biology of membrane sorting, retrieval, transport, and fusion.