Open AccessThe lipid droplet: A conserved cellular organelle
Author(s) -
Congyan Zhang,
Pingsheng Liu
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
protein and cell
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.973
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1674-8018
pISSN - 1674-800X
DOI - 10.1007/s13238-017-0467-6
Subject(s) - organelle , phospholipid , lipid droplet , nucleic acid , biology , lipid metabolism , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , membrane
The lipid droplet (LD) is a unique multi-functional organelle that contains a neutral lipid core covered with a phospholipid monolayer membrane. The LDs have been found in almost all organisms from bacteria to humans with similar shape. Several conserved functions of LDs have been revealed by recent studies, including lipid metabolism and trafficking, as well as nucleic acid binding and protection. We summarized these findings and proposed a hypothesis that the LD is a conserved organelle.