The dynamic cell: Livecell imaging and membrane traffic pathways

Text books published 15 or more years ago presented lovely cartoons to illustrate the organization of a mammalian cell, highlighting the different subcellular organelles, the cytoskeletal components and the nuclear architecture. Many still do, but the better ones complement these static images with animations and/or movies from imaging of living cells (see Figure 1). The cartoons provide a reason able overview of cellular organization, but they cannot capture the fact that cells are highly dynamic entities with ongoing constitutive and regulated movement between compartments.