Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics led a study showing that directional, non-vesicular lipid transport drives fast, species-selective lipid sorting, outpacing slower, less specific vesicular trafficking, and yielding a quantitative map of retrograde lipid transport in cells.

Thousands of lipid species occupy distinct organelle membranes, with task differences that determine cellular function. Gaps in live-cell imaging capabilities have limited clarity on how individual lipids move between organelles to maintain those tasks.

Biosynthesis of lipids begins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), followed by distribution toward the plasma membrane and subsequent recycling back into the ER or catabolism in lysosomes, peroxisomes, and mitochondria.