The effect of cholesterol, epicoprostanol, and phosphatidylcholine on phospholipid, RNA, and protein synthesis was investigated in the sterol auxotroph Mycoplasma capricolum. Cells growing poorly on lanosterol were stimulated to grow more rapidly by supplementing the medium with either 2 jig of cholesterol or 2.2 gg of egg phosphatidylcholine per ml, In such cells cholesterol caused a sequential stimulation of phospholipid, RNA, and protein synthesis. Enhanced oleate incorporation into phospholipid occurred early; the rates of RNA and protein synthesis increased later. In cells supplemented with phosphatidylcholine only RNA and protein syntheses were enhanced. The addition of 2 pzg of epicoprostanol per ml to cells growing on lanosterol promptly inhibited the rate ofunsaturated phospholipid synthesis and subsequently the rate of growth. Inhibition of both processes was relieved by supplying 2 pig of cholesterol or 2.2 pag of phosphatidylcholine per ml along with the inhibitory sterol. The results suggest that cholesterol, in small amounts exerts a positive regulatory effect and epicoprostanol exerts a negative one on unsaturated phospholipid synthesis and, in turn, that RNA and protein synthesis are coordinately controlled with phospholipid synthesis. Recent studies in this laboratory have furnished evidence in support ofthe view that the structure ofcholesterol is optimally designed for modulating the properties of both artificial and natural membranes (1-3). In order of importance, cholesterol appears to owe its unique properties to the following structural features: planarity of the a face in the region of C-14, absence of methyl substituents at C-4, and insertion of a 5,6 double bond.Further work, notably the discovery of sterol synergism, has led to the postulate that cholesterol may serve in more than one role as a constituent of biological membranes (4). It was suggested that, apart from its well-established ability to modify the bulk physical state of the lipid bilayer (5), cholesterol may function more specifically in localized membrane domains influencing certain metabolic processes. Cholesterol availability was suggested to be coupled to the synthesis of phospholipid in Mycoplasma capricolum, a sterol-and fatty acid-requiring prokaryote. In essence, a control mechanism distinct from that affecting the bulk physical state of the lipid bilayer was proposed (6), prompted by the following observations. A low level of cholesterol (0.5 ug/ml), insufficient to support significant growth, elicits a 2-fold stimulation of the Mycoplasma growth rate when combined with lanosterol (10 tkg/ml). Alone the latter sterol supports growth only poorly. The response is synergistic, not additive (4). A significant result was that the membranes ofcells grown on lanosterol with low cholesterol show the same low microviscosity value as membranes isolated from cells cultured on lanosterol alone (4, 6). In experiments designed to elucidate the basis of the synergistic sterol effect, we have obtained evidence that chole...