title: Disaccharides impact the lateral organization of lipid membranes.
abstract: Disaccharides are well-known for their membrane protective ability. Interaction between sugars and multicomponent membranes, however, remains largely unexplored. Here, we combine molecular dynamics simulations and fluorescence microscopy to study the effect of mono- and disaccharides on membranes that phase separate into Lo and Ld domains. We find that nonreducing disaccharides, sucrose and trehalose, strongly destabilize the phase separation leading to uniformly mixed membranes as opposed to monosaccharides and reducing disaccharides. To unveil the driving force for this process, simulations were performed in which the sugar linkage was artificially modified. The availability of accessible interfacial binding sites that can accommodate the nonreducing disaccharides is key for their strong impact on lateral membrane organization. These exclusive interactions between the nonreducing sugars and the membranes may rationalize why organisms such as yeasts, tardigrades, nematodes, bacteria, and plants accumulate sucrose and trehalose, offering cell protection under anhydrobiotic conditions. The proposed mechanism might prove to be a more generic way by which surface bound agents could affect membranes.
authors.affiliation: Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen , Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moiset
authors.forename: Cesar A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: Rianne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bartelds
authors.forename: Lukasz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Syga
authors.forename: Egon
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rijpkema
authors.forename: Abhishek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cukkemane
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baldus
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Poolman
authors.forename: Siewert J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Marrink
mesh_terms: D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry*; D004187:Disaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D009005:Monosaccharides / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004187:Disaccharides; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D009005:Monosaccharides