title: Correlation between fluidity and fatty acid composition of phospholipid species in Tetrahymena pyriformis during temperature acclimation.
abstract: The correlation between the fluidity of phospholipids and their fatty acid composition was studied by spin label technique and gas-liquid chromatography for three major phospholipid species in Tetrahymena pyriformis during temperature acclimation. The fluidity of 2-aminoethylphosphonolipid increased within the first 10 h of the cold-acclimation when the content of gamma-linolenic acid in 2-aminoethylphosphonolipid was highest, and it then decreased up to 24 h. On the other hand, the fluidities of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine showed a gradual decrease up to 24 h after the temperature shift, although gamma-linolenic acid contents were highest at 10 h after the temperature shift. Thus the fluidity changes of these two phospholipids were interpreted as resulting from the altered content of other fatty acids in addition to gamma-linolenic acid, since the gamma-linolenic acid content was smaller than that of 2-aminoethylphosphonolipid. The results suggest that the content of gamma-linolenic acid in 2-aminoethylphosphonolipid plays a role in regulating the thermal adaptation process.
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization; D000818:Animals; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D008560:Membrane Fluidity; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000502:physiology*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013696:Temperature; D013769:Tetrahymena pyriformis / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D010743:Phospholipids