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A molecular dynamics study of an archaeal tetraether lipid membrane: Comparison with a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer

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Lipids

Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulations of an archaeal membrane made up of bipolar tetraether lipids and a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lipid membrane were performed and compared for the first time. The simulated archaeal membrane consists of a pure monolayer of asymmetrical lipids, analogous to the main polar lipid [MPL; Swain, M., Brisson, J.-R., Sprott, G.D., Cooper, F.P., and Patel, G.B., (1997) Identification of β-1-Gulose as the Sugar moiety of the Main Polar Lipid of Thermoplasma acidophilum, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1345, 56–64] found in T. acidophilum, an extremophile archaeal organism. This simulated membrane lipid contains two cyclopentane rings located on one of the two aliphatic chains of the lipid. The archaeal membrane is simulated at 62°C, slightly above the optimal growth temperature of T. acidophilum. We compared the organization of this tetraether lipid monolayer with a DPPC bilayer simulated at 50°C, both of them being modeled in a partially hydrated state. Our results assess the singularity of the tetrather lipid organization, in particular the influence of the spanning structure on the molecular ordering within the archaeal membrane.

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Abbreviations

DPPC:

dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine

MPL:

main polar lipid

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  1. van’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, NL-1018 WV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    J. P. Nicolas

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Nicolas, J.P. A molecular dynamics study of an archaeal tetraether lipid membrane: Comparison with a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer. Lipids 40, 1023–1030 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-005-1465-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-005-1465-2

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