Plant Sterol Clustering Correlates with Membrane Microdomains as Revealed by Optical and Computational Microscopy.

ABSTRACT: Local inhomogeneities in lipid composition play a crucial role in the regulation of signal transduction and membrane traffic. This is particularly the case for plant plasma membrane, which is enriched in specific lipids, such as free and conjugated forms of phytosterols and typical phytosphingolipids. Nevertheless, most evidence for microdomains in cells remains indirect, and the nature of membrane inhomogeneities has been difficult to characterize. We used a new push-pull pyrene probe and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) combined with all-atom multiscale molecular dynamics simulations to provide a detailed view on the interaction between phospholipids and phytosterol and the effect of modulating cellular phytosterols on membrane-associated microdomains and phase separation

SUBMITTER: Tang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8539253 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature