Delineating the Rules for Structural Adaptation of Membrane-Associated Proteins to Evolutionary Changes in Membrane Lipidome.

ABSTRACT: Membrane function is fundamental to life. Each species explores membrane lipid diversity within a genetically predefined range of possibilities. How membrane lipid composition in turn defines the functional space available for evolution of membrane-centered processes remains largely unknown. We address this fundamental question using related fission yeasts Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Schizosaccharomyces japonicus. We show that, unlike S. pombe that generates membranes where both glycerophospholipid acyl tails are predominantly 16-18 carbons long, S. japonicus synthesizes unusual "asymmetrical" glycerophospholipids where the tails differ in length by 6-8 carbons. This results in stiffer bilayers with distinct lipid packing properties. Retroengineered S. pombe synthesizing the S.-japonicus

SUBMITTER: Makarova M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6997885 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature