Membrane lysis during biological membrane fusion: collateral damage by misregulated fusion machines

In the canonical model of membrane fusion, the integrity of the fusing membranes is never compromised, preserving the identity of fusing compartments. However, recent molecular simulations provided evidence for a pathway to fusion in which holes in the membrane evolve into a fusion pore. Additionally, two biological membrane fusion models—yeast cell mating and in vitro vacuole fusion—have shown that modifying the composition or altering the relative expression levels of membrane fusion complexes can result in membrane lysis. The convergence of these findings showing membrane integrity loss during biological membrane fusion suggests new mechanistic models for membrane fusion and the role of membrane fusion complexes.