Membrane Models and the Pursuit of Coherence

Abstract

We reexamine major membrane models against current evidence. Each addresses important questions, but not all are consistent with the available data. Seeking coherence, we propose the strong proteolipid code, a framework of versioned submodels building on an earlier proposal that clarified the relationship between protein and lipid distributions. The first of these submodels introduces glue-field duality as a structure for lipid-mediated protein interactions, classifies protein islands, and bounds autonomous lipid behavior.