Mechanical requirements for membrane fission: common facts from various examples
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Updated: Jun 18, 2026

A Model Membrane Platform for Reconstituting Mitochondrial Membrane Dynamics
Published on: September 2, 2020
Martin Lenz1, Sandrine Morlot, Aurélien Roux
1Institut Curie, Centre de Recherche, CNRS, UMR 168, Physico-Chimie Curie, Université Pierre et Marie Curie/Paris 6, F-75248 Paris, France.
Abstract:
Membrane fission is the last step of membrane carrier formation. As fusion, it is a very common process in eukaryotic cells, and participates in the integrity and specificity of organelles. Although many proteins have been isolated to participate in the various membrane fission reactions, we are far from understanding how membrane fission is mechanically triggered. Here we aim at reviewing the well-described examples of dynamin and lipid phase separation, and try to extract the essential requirements for fission. Then, we survey the recent knowledge obtained on other fission reactions, analyzing the similarities and differences with previous examples.
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