Related Experiment Videos
Temperature-induced physical changes in fungal plasma membranes
Canadian Journal of Biochemistry
|October 1, 1980
Summary
Fusarium sulphureum fungal membranes exhibit lipid phase separation and ordered structures at low temperatures. Elevated temperatures cause irreversible changes in membrane fluidity, leading to cation permeability and cell death.
Area of Science:
- Mycology
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- The plasma membrane's integrity is crucial for fungal cell function.
- Understanding membrane dynamics in response to temperature is vital for fungal survival.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate thermotropic physical changes in the plasma membrane of Fusarium sulphureum.
- To correlate these changes with membrane permeability and cell viability.
Main Methods:
- Freeze-fracture electron microscopy to visualize membrane structures.
- Lipophilic spin probes to assess membrane fluidity.
- Incubation at supra- and sub-physiological temperatures.
Main Results:
- Ordered lipid structures and phase separation were observed in protoplast membranes at 0°C.
- Exclusion of membrane proteins from ordered lipid domains.
- Increased divalent cation permeability (e.g., Ni2+) above physiological temperatures.
- Irreversible thermotropic changes in membrane lipid fluidity preceding cell death.
Conclusions:
- Fusarium sulphureum plasma membranes undergo temperature-induced lipid phase separation.
- These changes significantly impact membrane permeability and cell viability.
- Freeze-fracture and spin probe techniques are effective for studying fungal membrane thermotropic behavior.