The Saccharomyces cerevisiae lysosome-like vacuole is a useful model for studying membrane fusion events and organelle maturation processes utilized by all eukaryotes. The vacuolar membrane is capable of forming micrometer and nanometer scale domains that can be visualized using microscopic techniques and segregate into regions with surprisingly distinct lipid and protein compositions. These lipid raft domains are liquid-ordered (L_o) like regions that are rich in sphingolipids, phospholipids with saturated acyl chains, and ergosterol. Recent studies have shown that these lipid rafts contain an enrichment of many different proteins that function in essential activities such as nutrient transport, organelle contact, membrane trafficking, and homotypic fusion, suggesting that they are biologically relevant regions within the vacuole membrane. Here, we discuss recent developments and the current understanding of sphingolipid and ergosterol function at the vacuole, the composition and function of lipid rafts at this organelle and how the distinct lipid and protein composition of these regions facilitates the biological processes outlined above.

的 酿酒酵母溶酶体样液泡是研究膜融合事件和所有真核生物利用的细胞器成熟过程的有用模型。液泡膜能够形成微米和纳米尺度的区域，这些区域可以使用显微镜技术观察并分离成具有令人惊讶的不同脂质和蛋白质组成的区域。这些脂质筏域是液体有序的（L_Ø）富含鞘脂，具有饱和酰基链的磷脂和麦角固醇的区域。最近的研究表明，这些脂质筏含有丰富的许多蛋白质，这些蛋白质在诸如养分转运，细胞器接触，膜运输和同型融合等基本活动中起作用，表明它们是液泡膜内的生物学相关区域。在这里，我们讨论鞘液中鞘脂和麦角甾醇功能的最新发展和当前理解，该细胞器中脂筏的组成和功能，以及这些区域不同的脂质和蛋白质组成如何促进上述生物学过程。