Let's get together: A minimal model system was developed to mimic the SNARE-protein-mediated fusion of biological membranes (see picture). Fusion between two populations of liposomes is controlled by a pair of complementary lipidated oligopeptides that form noncovalent coiled-coil complexes and thereby force the membranes into close proximity to promote fusion. The model system displays the key characteristics of in vivo fusion events.

Honors Program, for their help in performing the cryo-TEM experiments. P. M. Frederik is acknowledged for fruitful discussions. SNARE = soluble NSF attachment protein receptor; NSF = N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor.Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://dx.