Skip to main content
PMC home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1972 Jun;69(6):1353–1357. doi: 10.1073/pnas.69.6.1353

Spin-Label Studies of Dynamics of Lipid Alkyl Chains in Biological Membranes: Role of Unsaturated Sites

S Eletr 1,2,*, Alec D Keith 1,2
PMCID: PMC426700  PMID: 4338592

Abstract

Cultures of a yeast mutant, deficient in the synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, were supplemented with either stearolic acid or with any one of three octadecanoic acids having a cis double bond 6, 9, or 11 carbons away from the acyl group. The resulting cells, with lipid alkyl chains well defined with respect to the position and nature of unsaturated sites, were then studied with spin-labeled stearic acids having a N-oxyloxazolidine ring located at 4, 6, 9, or 12 carbons away from the acyl group, and added in vitro to the cellular preparations.

Differences in the molecular motion of each spin label were observed, as a function of the unsaturated site, in the intact yeast cells. Characteristic order to disorder phase transitions are inferred from data of temperature dependence. The results also indicate that triple bonds and cis double bonds inhibit a relatively ordered packing of lipid alkyl chains in the region between unsaturated sites and terminal methyl groups, leaving the hydrophobic region bounded by acyl groups and unsaturated sites unaffected.

Keywords: membrane structure, yeast membrane, spin-label reduction

Full text

PDF
1353

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Engelman D. M. X-ray diffraction studies of phase transitions in the membrane of Mycoplasma laidlawii. J Mol Biol. 1970 Jan 14;47(1):115–117. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(70)90407-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Hubbell W. L., McConnell H. M. Molecular motion in spin-labeled phospholipids and membranes. J Am Chem Soc. 1971 Jan 27;93(2):314–326. doi: 10.1021/ja00731a005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Hubbell W. L., McConnell H. M. Orientation and motion of amphiphilic spin labels in membranes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1969 Sep;64(1):20–27. doi: 10.1073/pnas.64.1.20. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Keith A. D., Resnick M. R., Haley A. B. Fatty acid desaturase mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Bacteriol. 1969 May;98(2):415–420. doi: 10.1128/jb.98.2.415-420.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Keith A., Bulfield G., Snipes W. Spin-labeled Neurospora mitochondria. Biophys J. 1970 Jul;10(7):618–629. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(70)86324-X. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Libertini L. J., Waggoner A. S., Jost P. C., Griffith O. H. Orientation of lipid spin labels in lecithin multilayers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1969 Sep;64(1):13–19. doi: 10.1073/pnas.64.1.13. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Marr A. G., Ingraham J. L. EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON THE COMPOSITION OF FATTY ACIDS IN ESCHERICHIA COLI. J Bacteriol. 1962 Dec;84(6):1260–1267. doi: 10.1128/jb.84.6.1260-1267.1962. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Melchior D. L., Morowitz H. J., Sturtevant J. M., Tsong T. Y. Characterization of the plasma membrane of Mycoplasma laidlawii. VII. Phase transitions of membrane lipids. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1970;219(1):114–122. doi: 10.1016/0005-2736(70)90066-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Pearson L. K., Raper H. S. The Influence of Temperature on the Nature of the Fat formed by Living Organisms. Biochem J. 1927;21(4):875–879. doi: 10.1042/bj0210875. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Raison J. K., Lyons J. M., Mehlhorn R. J., Keith A. D. Temperature-induced phase changes in mitochondrial membranes detected by spin labeling. J Biol Chem. 1971 Jun 25;246(12):4036–4040. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Seelig J., Hasselbach W. A spin label study of sarcoplasmic vesicles. Eur J Biochem. 1971 Jul 15;21(1):17–21. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1971.tb01434.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Steim J. M., Tourtellotte M. E., Reinert J. C., McElhaney R. N., Rader R. L. Calorimetric evidence for the liquid-crystalline state of lipids in a biomembrane. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1969 May;63(1):104–109. doi: 10.1073/pnas.63.1.104. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Tourtellotte M. E., Branton D., Keith A. Membrane structure: spin labeling and freeze etching of Mycoplasma laidawii. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1970 Jul;66(3):909–916. doi: 10.1073/pnas.66.3.909. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES