title: Mass spectrometric imaging of highly curved membranes during Tetrahymena mating.
abstract: Biological membrane fusion is crucial to numerous cellular events, including sexual reproduction and exocytosis. Here, mass spectrometry images demonstrate that the low-curvature lipid phosphatidylcholine is diminished in the membrane regions between fusing Tetrahymena, where a multitude of highly curved fusion pores exist. Additionally, mass spectra and principal component analysis indicate that the fusion region contains elevated amounts of 2-aminoethylphosphonolipid, a high-curvature lipid. This evidence suggests that biological fusion involves and might in fact be driven by a heterogeneous redistribution of lipids at the fusion site.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Sara G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Ostrowski
authors.forename: Craig T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Van Bell
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Winograd
authors.forename: Andrew G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Ewing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005614:Freeze Fracturing; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008561:Membrane Fusion; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000032:analysis*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000032:analysis*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000032:analysis*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D018629:Spectrometry, Mass, Secondary Ion; D016808:Tetrahymena thermophila / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: C001823:2-aminoethylphosphonolipid; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010743:Phospholipids