Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Membrane Fluidity01:23

Membrane Fluidity

162.1K
Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.
162.1K
Phase Transitions02:31

Phase Transitions

20.9K
Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to...
20.9K
What are Membranes?01:54

What are Membranes?

177.2K
A key characteristic of life is the ability to separate the external environment from the internal space. To do this, cells have evolved semi-permeable membranes that regulate the passage of biological molecules. Additionally, the cell membrane defines a cell’s shape and interactions with the external environment. Eukaryotic cell membranes also serve to compartmentalize the internal space into organelles, including the endomembrane structures of the nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum and...
177.2K
Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters01:19

Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters

6.0K
Enzymes like flippase, floppase, and scramblase transfer phospholipids from one layer to another in the membrane, thereby affecting membrane asymmetry.
Flippase
Eukaryotic flippases are type-IV P-type ATPases or P4-ATPases belonging to P-type ATPase family proteins that are membrane-bound pumps involved in the ATP-mediated transport of ions and molecules across the membrane. Flippases flip specific phospholipids from the outer to the inner leaflet of a membrane. All P4-ATPases have one...
6.0K
Fluid Mosaic Model01:19

Fluid Mosaic Model

14.0K
Scientists identified the plasma membrane in the 1890s and its principal chemical components (lipids and proteins) by 1915. The model for plasma membrane structure, proposed in 1935 by Hugh Davson and James Danielli, was the first model to be widely accepted in the scientific community. The model was based on the plasma membrane's "railroad track" appearance in early electron micrographs. Davson and Danielli theorized that the plasma membrane's structure resembled a sandwich...
14.0K
Enlargement of the Plasma Membrane01:22

Enlargement of the Plasma Membrane

2.0K
Cell division and enlargement are processes that require precise control. The control ensures that cell division cannot proceed unless the cell has grown to a specific size. A spherical, dividing cell requires an approximately 1.6X increase in its surface area to double its volume. The secretory pathway also has a significant role in cell membrane enlargement. Secretory vesicles that bud off from the Golgi apparatus and later fuse with the plasma membrane during exocytosis are a major source of...
2.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Organization and Triggered Release of Liposomes with DNA-Based Synthetic Condensates.

ACS nano·2026
Same author

Direct evidence and quantification of homologous recognition between DNA duplexes.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Tandem Oligonucleotide Synthesis Enabled by a Reducible Linker.

Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology·2026
Same author

Magneto-optical microscopy platform for quantitative imaging of hemozoin in blood for malaria diagnosis.

Biomedical optics express·2026
Same author

A Facile Strategy for 3'-Terminal Functionalization of DNA and RNA via On-Column Conjugation with Integration into Tandem Oligonucleotide Synthesis.

Current protocols·2026
Same author

Acyclic serinol nucleic acid modification of siRNAs overcomes seed region mediated off-target effects while maintaining potency.

Nucleic acids research·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 18, 2025

Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy
10:08

Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy

Published on: October 24, 2017

9.4K

Thermally Driven Membrane Phase Transitions Enable Content Reshuffling in Primitive Cells.

Roger Rubio-Sánchez1, Derek K O'Flaherty2, Anna Wang3

  • 1Biological and Soft Systems, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.

Journal of the American Chemical Society
|October 1, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Environmental fluctuations drove membrane phase transitions, enabling primitive cells to release and reshuffle contents. This process generated functional daughter protocells from nonfunctional parents, initiating Darwinian evolution.

More Related Videos

Membrane Remodeling of Giant Vesicles in Response to Localized Calcium Ion Gradients
08:15

Membrane Remodeling of Giant Vesicles in Response to Localized Calcium Ion Gradients

Published on: July 16, 2018

8.1K
Temperature-Controlled Assembly and Characterization of a Droplet Interface Bilayer
10:11

Temperature-Controlled Assembly and Characterization of a Droplet Interface Bilayer

Published on: April 19, 2021

3.9K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 18, 2025

Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy
10:08

Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy

Published on: October 24, 2017

9.4K
Membrane Remodeling of Giant Vesicles in Response to Localized Calcium Ion Gradients
08:15

Membrane Remodeling of Giant Vesicles in Response to Localized Calcium Ion Gradients

Published on: July 16, 2018

8.1K
Temperature-Controlled Assembly and Characterization of a Droplet Interface Bilayer
10:11

Temperature-Controlled Assembly and Characterization of a Droplet Interface Bilayer

Published on: April 19, 2021

3.9K

Area of Science:

  • Origin of Life Studies
  • Biophysics
  • Prebiotic Chemistry

Background:

  • Self-assembling single-chain amphiphiles are crucial for primitive cell cycles.
  • Prebiotic fatty acid membranes exhibit instability to temperature and pH, limiting cellular processes.
  • Environmental fluctuations may have influenced early cellular evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of membrane phase transitions in protocell generation and content shuffling.
  • To explore how environmental fluctuations could drive the formation of functional protocells.
  • To propose a mechanism for the emergence of Darwinian evolution in early life forms.

Main Methods:

  • Modeling reversible membrane-to-oil phase transitions in fatty acid vesicles.
  • Analyzing the effects of temperature fluctuations on vesicle stability and content release.
  • Observing the emergence of functional RNA-containing protocells from nonfunctional parent compartments.

Main Results:

  • A reversible membrane-to-oil phase transition was identified, leading to vesicle dissolution at high temperatures and reassembly at low temperatures.
  • This cycle facilitated the release and reshuffling of protocellular contents, including oligonucleotides.
  • The disassembly/reassembly process successfully generated functional RNA-containing protocells from nonfunctional ones.

Conclusions:

  • Environmental fluctuations and membrane phase transitions offer a plausible mechanism for protocell content reshuffling and the emergence of functional primitive cells.
  • The intrinsic instability of prebiotic vesicles can be exploited for an environmentally driven process crucial for early life evolution.
  • This mechanism provides a potential pathway for initiating Darwinian evolution in the absence of transport machinery.