Synaptic Vesicles in the Fast Lane

It is well established that a subset of synaptic vesicles seem to be preferentially recycled after neurotransmitter release. It has been assumed that these vesicles must cluster at the active zones of the presynaptic nerve terminal membrane so that they can rapidly release their contents in response to electrical stimulation. In their Perspective, Holt and Jahn reveal that rapidly recycled synaptic vesicles are, in fact, randomly distributed throughout the nerve terminal (Rizzoli and Betz), suggesting that they must carry some type of marker that distinguishes them from the rest of the vesicle pool.status: publishe