Abstract
The validity of the principle of homeoviscous adaptation forBacillus subtilis was tested by comparing fluorescence aniaotropy (1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene) and electron-spin resonance (16-doxylstearate) measurements carried out in isolated plasma membranes and in phospholipid fractions. The physical measurements were supplemented by fatty-acid analysis. The results support our previous findings on intact cells. The thermoadaptive mechanism ofB. subtilis manifested as an increase in relative proportion of branchedanteiso-C15 andanteiso-C17 fatty acids, are not strong enough to compensate for the marked physical change of membrane fluidity induced by temperature decrease.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bishop D.G., Rutberg L., Samuelson B.: The chemical composition of the cytoplasmic membrane ofBacillus subtilis.Eur. J. Biochem. 2, 448–453 (1967).
Bohin J. P., Bohin A., Schaeffer P.: Increased nitrate reductase activity as a sign of membrane alternation in early blocked asporogenous mutants ofBacillus subtilis.Biochemie 58, 99–108 (1976).
Cossins A.R., Sinenski M.: Adaptation of membranes to temperature, pressure and exogenous lipids, p. 1–20 inPhysiology of Membrane Fluidity, Vol. II (M.Shnitzki, ed.). CRC Press, Boca Raton (Florida) 1984.
Glass R.L.: Alcoholysis saponification and the preparation of fatty acids methylesters.Lipids 6, 919–926 (1971).
Kaback H.R.: Bacterial membranes, p. 99–107 inMethods in Enzymology, Vol. 22. Academic Press, New York 1971.
Kaneda T.: Positional distribution of fatty acids in phospholipids fromBacillus subtilis.Biochim. Biophys. Acta 270, 32–39 (1972).
Lindgren V., Holmgren E., Rutberg L.:Bacillus subtilis mutant with temperature-sensitive net synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine.J. Bacteriol. 132, 473–484 (1977).
Quint J.F., Fulco A.J.: The biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids by bacilli.J. Biol. Chem. 248, 6885–6895 (1973).
Radin N.S.: Extraction of tissue lipids with a solvent of low toxicity, p. 5–7 inMethods in Enzymology, Vol. 72. Academic Press, New York 1981.
Rottem S., Markowitz O., Razin S.: Thermal regulation of the fatty acid composition of lipopolysaccharides and phospholipidsof Proteus mirabilis.Eur. J. Biochem. 85, 451–456 (1978).
Seelig J.:Spin Labelling, Theory and Applications (L.J. Berliner, ed.), p. 373. Academic Press, New York 1976.
Silvius J.R., Mak N., McElhaney R.N.: Why do prokarytes regulate membrane fluidity?, p. 213 inMembrane Fluidity: Biophysical Techniques and Cellular Regulations (M.Kates, A.A.Kuksis, eds.). Humana Press Clifton, New York 1980.
Sinensky M.: Homeoviscous adaptation — a homeostatic process that regulates the viscosity of membrane lipids inEscherichia coli.Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 71, 522–525 (1974).
Svobodová J., Svoboda P.: Cytoplasmic membrane fluidity measurements on intact living cells ofBacillus subtilis by fluorescence anisotropy of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hoxatriene.Folia Microbiol. 33, 1–9 (1988a).
Svobodová J., Svoboda P.: Membrane fluidity inBacillus subtilis. Physical change and biological adaptation.Folia Microbiol. 33, 161–169 (1986).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Svobodová, J., Julák, J., Pilař, J. et al. Membrane fluidity inBacillus subtilis. Validity of homeoviscous adaptation. Folia Microbiol 33, 170–177 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02925901
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02925901