Considering all the different forces andmechanism that constantly act
on the lipid and protein components of membranes it is not surprising to
find a highly complex lateral organization in all biological membranes.
The PM constitutes the interface between the cell and its environment
and therefore has to balance a range of specific functions. It has to allow
selective uptake of small molecules and active recycling of its integral
components while maintaining its integrity and impermeability against
potentially harmful influences. The above described processes help to
establish an optimized lipid and protein composition in the PM, which
supports its opposing functions. Yeast provides a unique set of features
and molecular tools that facilitate the systematic and challenging study
of complex interplay betweenmembrane transport pathways, macromolecular
scaffolds and protein–lipid interactions. The astonishingly slow
diffusion of all yeast PM constituents that have so far been studied is
probably responsible for the relatively large size of the observed lateral
domains. These domains can be imaged with high spatial and temporal
resolution using standard fluorescence microscopy techniques such as
TIRF and FRAP. Future application of single molecule tracking and super
resolution techniques will further increase the detail of our understanding
and will hopefully allow us to build quantitative models for lateral
PM organization. Integrative approaches combining quantitative experiments
with mathematical modeling have proven critical to understand