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Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Fluorescence-Based Measurements of Phosphatidylserine/Phosphatidylinositol 4-Phosphate Exchange Between Membranes
Published on: March 14, 2021
Phosphatidic acid is a pH biosensor that links membrane biogenesis to metabolism
Barry P Young1, John J H Shin, Rick Orij
1Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
Abstract:
Recognition of lipids by proteins is important for their targeting and activation in many signaling pathways, but the mechanisms that regulate such interactions are largely unknown. Here, we found that binding of proteins to the ubiquitous signaling lipid phosphatidic acid (PA) depended on intracellular pH and the protonation state of its phosphate headgroup. In yeast, a rapid decrease in intracellular pH in response to glucose starvation regulated binding of PA to a transcription factor, Opi1, that coordinately repressed phospholipid metabolic genes. This enabled coupling of membrane biogenesis to nutrient availability.
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