title: Electron spin resonance studies of the membranes of the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum.
abstract: Doxylstearic acid spin labels are used to study the fluidity of the membranes of the cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum. The tau omicron value of the wild-type cell membrane is close to that of egg lecithin indicating a rather fluid membrane. No detectable change in the fluidity of the bulk lipids at the 16-carbon depth occurs during differentiation of the myxamoebae into stalk and spore cells despite reported changes in the individual lipid components. The results of studies on temperature-sensitive and aggregationless mutants are also presented.
mesh_terms: D002455:Cell Division; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D008055:Lipids / Q000502:physiology; D008433:Mathematics; D009154:Mutation; D009235:Myxomycetes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D013045:Species Specificity; D013113:Spin Labels; D013229:Stearic Acids; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D013113:Spin Labels; D013229:Stearic Acids