3D Vesicle Transport Simulation
Budding, motor transport, docking and fusion

Transport laboratory

Mission: package cargo, recruit a motor protein, travel on a microtubule, and fuse at the correct membrane.
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Live measurements

Transport stageReady
Track position0%
ATP used0
Deliveries0

A coated bud is ready to form at the donor membrane. Press Start to begin.

Transport graph

Track positionDocking readiness

Microscope & camera

Focus: noneTap a structure
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Drag to pan. Wheel or pinch to zoom. Tap ER, coat, vesicle, motor, microtubule, Golgi, membrane, lysosome, or SNARE proteins.

Teacher / Demo tools

Interactive teacher-led lesson

After a five-second hook, each sentence changes the active structure, arrow, camera, and microscopic process before the lesson continues.

Ready. Narration will not start automatically.
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Ready for cellular transport

What to watch: press Start Complete Lecture.

The lesson begins only when you choose to start it.

Learning objectives

  • Trace cargo from donor membrane to its correct destination.
  • Explain vesicle budding, coat removal, motor transport, docking, and fusion.
  • Connect ATP supply and motor number to transport speed.
  • Explain how Rab proteins and SNAREs provide delivery specificity.
  • Compare secretion, endocytosis, and lysosome delivery.

Key concepts demonstrated

Membranes bend around selected cargo and pinch off as vesicles. After the coat is removed, motor proteins use ATP to walk along polarized microtubules. Rab and tether proteins identify the destination. Matching vesicle and target SNAREs pull membranes together until they fuse and release cargo.

Suggested experiments

  • Set ATP to minimum and watch motor steps slow.
  • Increase the number of motors while keeping cargo heavy.
  • Lower target match and observe repeated docking attempts.
  • Compare exocytosis with endocytosis.

Questions for exploration

  • Why must a coat be removed before docking?
  • How can one vesicle avoid fusing with the wrong membrane?
  • Why do long-distance deliveries use cytoskeletal tracks?

Real-world applications

Neurons release neurotransmitters through regulated exocytosis. Immune cells secrete antibodies. Cells take up cholesterol by receptor-mediated endocytosis, while lysosomes receive enzymes and material for recycling.

Common misconceptions

  • Vesicles do not drift randomly for the whole journey; motors often guide them on tracks.
  • Fusion is selective, not automatic on contact.
  • The vesicle membrane becomes part of the target membrane during fusion.
  • Endocytosis brings membrane and cargo inward; exocytosis sends cargo outward.

Vesicle transport challenge

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