Structure–function relationships in pure archaeal bipolar tetraether lipids

Bhattacharya, Ahanjit; Falk, Isaac D.; Moss, Frank R.; Weiss, Thomas M.; Tran, Khoi N.; Burns, Noah Z.; Boxer, Steven G.

doi:10.1039/d4sc03788j

Chem. Sci.

2024

DOI: 10.1039/d4sc03788j

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Structure–function relationships in pure archaeal bipolar tetraether lipids

Ahanjit Bhattacharya,

Isaac D. Falk,

Frank R. Moss

et al.

Abstract: Archaeal bipolar tetraether lipids (BTLs) are among the most unusual lipids occurring in nature because of their presumed ability to span the entire membrane to form a monolayer structure. It...

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Cited by 1 publication

References 69 publications

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Stability vs flexibility: reshaping archaeal membranes in silico

Amaral,

Frey,

Jiang

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Across the tree of life, distinct designs of cellular membranes have evolved that are both stable and flexible. In bacteria and eukaryotes this trade-off is accomplished by single-headed lipids that self-assemble into flexible bilayer membranes. By contrast, archaea in many cases possess both bilayer and double-headed, monolayer spanning bolalipids. This composition is believed to enable extremophile archaea to survive harsh environments. Here, through the creation of a minimal computational model for bolalipid membranes, we discover trade-offs when forming membranes using lipids of a single type. Similar to living archaea, we can tune the stiffness of bolalipid molecules. We find that membranes made out of flexible bolalipid molecules resemble bilayer membranes as they can adopt U-shaped conformations to enable higher curvatures. Conversely, stiffer bolalipid molecules, like those found in archaea at higher temperatures, preferentially take on a straight conformation to self-assemble into liquid membranes that are stable, stiff, prone to pore formation, and which tear during membrane reshaping. Strikingly, however, our analysis reveals that it is possible to achieve the best of both worlds – membranes that are fluid, stable at high temperatures and flexible enough to be reshaped without leaking – through the inclusion of a small fraction of bilayer lipids into a bolalipid membrane. Taken together, our study compares the different membrane designs across the tree of life and indicates how combining lipids can be used to resolve trade-offs when generating membranes for (bio)technological applications.

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Stability vs flexibility: reshaping archaeal membranes in silico

Amaral,

Frey,

Jiang

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

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Structure–function relationships in pure archaeal bipolar tetraether lipids

Abstract: Archaeal bipolar tetraether lipids (BTLs) are among the most unusual lipids occurring in nature because of their presumed ability to span the entire membrane to form a monolayer structure. It...

Cited by 1 publication

References 69 publications

Stability vs flexibility: reshaping archaeal membranes in silico

Stability vs flexibility: reshaping archaeal membranes in silico

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