Abstract
The plasma membrane from Aphanothece halophytica was isolated using both glycerol and sucrose gradient centrifugation. The isolated membrane was characterized for lipid content by TLC and isolated lipids were quantified by chemical analysis. The plasma membrane of A. halophytica was composed of MGDG, DGDG and PG. The sulfur containing lipid SQDG was not detected. The mole percent of each lipid in the plasma membrane varied with the external salinity of the media. MGDG was the most abundant lipid in the plasma membrane of cells grown at one molar external NaCl. At three molar external NaCl, PG was the most abundant lipid. The ratio of uncharged to charged lipids comprising the plasma membrane decreased as the external salinity increased. It is possible that the alteration in lipid composition is of major importance in the adaptation of A. halophytica to changing external salinity.
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Abbreviations
- TLC:
-
Thin-layer chromatography
- MGDG:
-
momogalactosyldiacylglycerol
- DGDG:
-
digaloctosyldiacylglycerol
- PG:
-
phosphatidylglycerol
- SQDG:
-
sulphoquinovosyldiacylglycerol
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Ritter, D., Yopp, J.H. Plasma membrane lipid composition of the halophilic cyanobacterium Aphanothece halophytica . Arch. Microbiol. 159, 435–439 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288590
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288590