title: Biochemical and biophysical studies of Bacillus subtilis envelopes under hyperosmotic stress.
abstract: The behaviour and state of the envelopes from B. subtilis cultures grown in Luria Bertani (LB) medium with and without 1.5 M NaCl are compared. Under hypertonic conditions, the hydrophobicity of the cultures increases. The phospholipid and fatty acid (FA) compositions show important differences: a higher cardiolipin (CL) content [at the expense of phosphatidylglycerol (PG)], and a higher unsaturated and straight chain FA content. The fluidity of the membranes, determined with fluorescent probes, indicates an increase in viscosity of the cytoplasmic membrane. The consequences of these variations in membrane permeability and osmotolerance are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Celular, Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Heras
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Garda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ruzal
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Rivas
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rivas
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D008560:Membrane Fluidity; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000032:analysis*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000032:analysis; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D010743:Phospholipids