Bilayer-Forming Lipids Enhance Archaeal Monolayer Membrane Stability.

ABSTRACT: Archaeal membranes exhibit remarkable stability under extreme environmental conditions, a feature attributed to their unique lipid composition. While it is widely accepted that tetraether lipids confer structural integrity by forming monolayers, the role of bilayer-forming diether lipids in membrane stability remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that incorporating diethers into archaeal-like lipid assemblies enhances membrane organization and adaptability under thermal stress. Using neutron diffraction, we show that membranes composed of mixed diethers and tetraethers exhibit greater structural order and stability compared to pure lipid systems. Contrary to expectations, monolayer-forming tetraethers alone display increased variability in lamellar spacing under fluctuating temperature and

SUBMITTER: Saracco M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11988840 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature