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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Lipid Vesicle-mediated Affinity Chromatography using Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting (LIMACS): a Novel Method to Analyze Protein-lipid Interaction
Published on: April 26, 2011
Abscisic acid enhances aggregation and fusion of phospholipid vesicles
W Stillwell1, B Brengle, S R Wassall
1Department of Biology, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis.
Abstract:
The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is shown to enhance the aggregation and fusion of small unilamellar lipid vesicles composed of 80 mol% dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and 20 mol% dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPE). Aggregation and fusion did not occur with single component (100 mol%) DMPC vesicles. Fusion was followed by two fundamentally different techniques, fluorescence resonance energy transfer which monitors intermixing of bilayers and ANTS-DPX which monitors intermixing of the sequestered aqueous interiors. It is suggested that a previously unreported role of ABA may be as a membrane fusagen.
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