Time in the cell: a plausible role for the plasma membrane

Abstract

All cells must keep time to consistently perform vital biological functions. To that end, the coupling and interrelatedness of diverse subsecond events in the complex cellular environment, such as protein folding or translation rates, cannot simply result from the chance convergence of the inherent chemical properties of these phenomena, but may instead be synchronized through a cell-wide pacemaking mechanism. Picosecond vibrations of lipid membranes may play a role in such a mechanism.