chapter 7 Flashcards
The plasma membrane is the boundary that
separates the living cell from its surroundings
The plasma membrane exhibits
selective permeability, allowing some substances to cross it more easily than others
- it chooses. its picky.
- not just anything gets in the cell. they decide what gets in cell. its like a bouncer at a club that decides who gets to go in or who doesnt.
Phospholipids are the most abundant
lipid in the plasma membrane
Phospholipids are
amphipathic molecules, containing hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions
-half like water, half doesnt like water
The fluid mosaic model states that
a membrane is a fluid structure with a “mosaic” of various proteins embedded in it
-fluid- dynamic, moving
-mosaic- a bunch of little pieces together
made of lots of different molecules/elements
Membranes have been chemically analyzed and found to be made of
proteins and lipids
Scientists studying the plasma membrane reasoned that it must be a
phospholipid bilayer
two main components of membranes
proteins and lipids (phospholipids)
In 1935, Hugh Davson and James Danielli proposed a sandwich model in which the phospholipid bilayer lies between two layers of globular proteins
Later studies found problems with this model, particularly the placement of membrane proteins, which have hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions
In 1972, S. J. Singer and G. Nicolson proposed that the membrane is a mosaic of proteins dispersed within the bilayer, with only the hydrophilic regions exposed to water
proteins are embedded across membrane
Freeze-fracture studies of the plasma membrane supported the fluid mosaic model.
Freeze-fracture is a specialized preparation technique that splits a membrane along the middle of the phospholipid bilayer.
Phospholipids in the plasma membrane can move within the bilayer. (constantly moving)
Most of the lipids, and some proteins, drift laterally.(move left to right)
Rarely does a molecule flip-flop transversely across the membrane.
As temperatures cool, membranes
switch from a fluid state to a solid state
-this is bad. dont want a membrane to freeze up.
The temperature at which a membrane solidifies depends on the types of lipids
Membranes rich in unsaturated fatty acids are more fluid than those rich in saturated fatty acids
(unsaturated fatty acids- double bonds with kinks)
(saturated fatty acids- will stack much better)
Membranes must be fluid to
work properly
The steroid cholesterol has different effects on membrane fluidity at different temperatures
(does different jobs at different times)
- At warm temperatures (such as 37°C), cholesterol restrains movement of phospholipids
- At cool temperatures, it maintains fluidity by preventing tight packing. and keeps things moving so it doesnt pack or go too slow.
normal body temperature- keep things moving but it restrains it so it doesnt go too fast
Some proteins in the plasma membrane can
drift within the bilayer
Proteins are much larger than lipids and
move more slowly
Variations in lipid composition of cell membranes of many species appear to be adaptations to specific environmental conditions.
Ability to change the lipid compositions in response to temperature changes has evolved in organisms that live where temperatures vary.
A membrane is a
collage of different proteins, often grouped together, embedded in the fluid matrix of the lipid bilayer
Proteins determine
most of the membrane’s specific functions
The two sides of a membrane have
different protein and lipid compositions
phospholipids
most common lipid in a membrane
Peripheral proteins
are bound to the surface of the membrane
Integral proteins penetrate the hydrophobic core (across the membrane).
- Integral proteins that span the membrane are called transmembrane proteins
- The hydrophobic regions of an integral protein consist of one or more stretches of nonpolar amino acids, often coiled into alpha helices
Six major functions of membrane proteins
- Transport
- Enzymatic activity (speed up reactions)
- Signal transduction
- Cell-cell recognition
- Intercellular joining
- Attachment to the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix (ECM)
-Membranes are structural and functional mosaics
Cells recognize each other by
binding to surface molecules, often containing carbohydrates, on the extracellular surface of the plasma membrane
Membrane carbohydrates may be covalently bonded to
lipids (forming glycolipids) or more commonly to proteins (forming glycoproteins)
Carbohydrates on the external side of the plasma membrane vary among
species, individuals, and even cell types in an individual
Example – Blood types
Membranes have
distinct inside and outside faces
The asymmetrical distribution of proteins, lipids, and associated carbohydrates in the plasma membrane is determined when
the membrane is built by the ER and Golgi apparatus
Molecules that start out on the inside face of the ER end up
on the outside face of the plasma membrane
A cell must exchange materials with its surroundings, a process controlled by the
plasma membrane
Plasma membranes are selectively permeable, regulating the cell’s molecular traffic.
Three things that influence whether something will get in the membrane or not:
- Size of molecule
- Polarity of molecule (hydrophobic or hydrophilic)
- Presence/absence of transport proteins in the membrane
Hydrophobic (nonpolar) molecules, such as hydrocarbons, can
dissolve in the lipid bilayer and pass through the membrane rapidly
-Hydrocarbons, CO2 and O2
Polar molecules, such as sugars, do not
cross the membrane easily (hydrophilic molecules)
-C6H12O6, or charged molecules
its easy to get in the membrane if it is
hydrophobic
Transport proteins allow
passage of hydrophilic substances across the membrane
Some transport proteins, called channel proteins, have a
hydrophilic channel that certain molecules or ions can use as a tunnel
Channel proteins called aquaporins facilitate
the passage of water
Other transport proteins, called carrier proteins, bind to
molecules and change shape to shuttle them across the membrane
A transport protein is
specific for the substance it moves
Diffusion is
the tendency for molecules to spread out evenly into the available space