Springs and zippers: coiled coils in SNARE-mediated membrane fusion

AbstractA conserved molecular machinery based on SNARE proteins catalyzes most, if not all, cellular membrane fusion events. A flurry of recent biophysical studies have established a detailed molecular picture of the core SNARE complex. Structural and biochemical analysis of the SNARE machinery is rapidly advancing our understanding of the specificity, regulation and protein catalysis of membrane fusion