How a helix imposes palmitoylation of a membrane protein: What one can learn from NCX.

Palmitoylation is a critical post-translational modification that anchors proteins to, and regulates transport across, the lipid bilayer. Palmitoylation enzymes have been assumed to select their substrates based on a protein's primary sequence, but a consensus sequence has been slow to emerge. A study of the sodium/calcium exchanger now suggests that secondary structure may hold the key to understanding the determinants of this modification.