How many steps are involved in vesicle targeting and fusion?

Vesicle Targeting and Fusion Steps

Formation of the vesicles: Vesicles are formed from the Golgi apparatus and transported along microtubules.

Capture by the target membrane: The vesicles are captured by the target membrane, which is usually the plasma membrane or an organelle membrane.

Tethering: The vesicles are temporarily attached to the target membrane by tethering proteins.

Docking: The vesicles come into close proximity with the target membrane.

Primed for fusion: The vesicles undergo conformational changes, making them ready for fusion.

Membrane fusion: The vesicle membrane and target membrane merge, allowing the contents of the vesicle to be released into the target compartment.

Release of cargo: The cargo molecules within the vesicle are released into the target compartment.

Membrane recycling: The vesicle membrane is recycled back to the donor compartment for future use.