Biomembrane Structure Flashcards
Lumen
fluid filled interior of organelle
What is the bilayer membrane composed of
phospholipids
hydrophobic tails and hydrophilic heads
proteins embedded in
Fluid Mosaic model
individual phospholipids can move laterally and spin within the plane of the membrane – causing the fluidity
What give membrane strength
non-covalent interactions between phospholipids and between phospholipids and proteins
Hydrophobic core helps with what
prevents unassisted movements of water soluble substances from one side to the other
what do integral proteins often form
dimers and higher order oligomers
How do peripheral proteins associate with membrane
non-covalent interactions with integral proteins or membrane lipids
How are lipid anchored proteins tethered
covalently attached hydrocarbon chain
What is the core of the bilayer
extremely hydrophobic
Why is the hydrophobic bilayer a good thing
prevents diffusion of anything hydrophilic across the membrane and very stable interactions (hydrophobic-van der waals) hold together
How did some organelles obtain double membrane
endosymbiont hypothesis
Exoplasmic faces
outside of cell
Cystolic faces
facing the cystol of the cell
three classes of lipids in the biomembrane
Phosphoglycerides , sphingolipids, sterols
what is the most abundant lipid in the membrane
phosphoglycerides
Structure of phosphoglycerides
glycerol 3-phosphate bound to: 2 fatty acid chains (16 or 18 carbon long) and one of many different head groups
Different Head groups
choline head-> phosphatidylcholine
phosphatidylethanolamine
phosphatidylserine
phosphatidyl-inositol
Sphingolipids structure
sphingosine molecule ( amino alcohol with a long fatty acid tail) bound to a long fatty acid chain and one of several head groups
Sphingomyelin
phosphocholine head group and is important in nerve cells
Glycolipids
have sugar head group
usually on leaflet facing outside
helps protect cell
not a phospholipid
Structure of sterols
4 carbon rings w hydrophilic hydroxyl group on 1 ring
very hydrophobic
Do sterols form membranes
NO
they wedge themselves between other membrane lipids
Sterol function
to regulate membrane fluidity
Most abundant sterol in membrane?
cholesterol
What contributes to fluid like consistency of the membrane
phospholipids can move laterally spin in place (like a top) vibrate flip sides of the bilayer
How are lateral movements of phospholipids detected
FRAP
FRAP process
- label all molecules specific type membrane lipid with fluorescent dye
- shine laser on small patch of membrane, bleaching dye in that area
- measure how long takes labeled lipids to move into that spot (indicates rate of lateral movement