title: Membrane lipid composition, fluidity, and surface charge changes in response to growth of the fresh water cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6311 under high salinity.
abstract: The effect of adaptation to saline growth of a fresh water cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6311 on components of the cytoplasmic membranes and thylakoids was investigated. Significant changes in membrane surface charge, lipid, fatty acid, and carotenoid composition were observed upon transfer of the cells from a low salt (0.015 M NaCl) to a high salt (0.50 M NaCl) growth medium. Very similar changes in the polar lipid classes and fatty acid composition were observed in both membranes, but changes in fluidity and surface charge and a significant shift in the protein to lipid ratio were only apparent in the cytoplasmic membranes. The fluidity and surface charge data correlate well with functional studies and we can attribute the cytoplasmic membrane as the major site of interaction and adaptation to the saline environment.
authors.affiliation: Membrane Bioenergetics Group, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Khomutov
authors.forename: I V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Fry
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Huflejt
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Packer
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization; D002458:Cell Fractionation; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology*; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D005618:Fresh Water; D007700:Kinetics; D008560:Membrane Fluidity; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000032:analysis*; D015388:Organelles / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D008563:Membrane Lipids; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic