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Updated: Oct 4, 2025

Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging and Force Spectroscopy of Supported Lipid Bilayers
Published on: July 22, 2015
Fluidity is the way to life: lipid phase separation in bacterial membranes
1Institute for General Microbiology, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
Abstract:
A hallmark of biological membranes is the dynamic localization of lipids and proteins. Lipids respond to temperature reduction below a critical point with phase separation, and poikilothermic animals and also bacteria adapt their lipid content to prevent gel phase formation in membranes. In a new study, Gohrbandt et al (2022) show that reduced membrane fluidity in bacterial cells causes reversible phase separation without membrane rupture in vivo, highlighting the physical robustness of biological membranes.
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