title: Adaptation of the membrane in Archaea.
abstract: Microbes often face contrasted and fluctuating environmental conditions, to which they need to adapt or die. Because membranes play a central role in regulating fluxes inward and outward from the cells, maintaining the appropriate structure of the membrane is crucial to maintain cellular integrity and functions. This is achieved in bacteria and eucarya by a modification of the membrane lipid compositions, a strategy termed homeoviscous adaptation. We review here evidence for homeoviscous adaptation in Archaea, and discuss the limits of this strategy and our knowledge in this very peculiar domain of life.
authors.affiliation: CNRS UMR 5276, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon cedex 07, France. Electronic address: poger@ens-lyon.fr.
authors.forename: Philippe M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Oger
authors.forename: Anaïs
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cario
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D001105:Archaea / Q000502:physiology*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry; D005995:Glyceryl Ethers / Q000737:chemistry; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005995:Glyceryl Ethers; D008563:Membrane Lipids; C094417:archaeol lipid
keywords: Archaea; Extreme environment; High hydrostatic pressure; Homeoviscous adaptation; Lipids; Membranes