Photosynthetic membranes, also called thylakoids, have a unique and unusual lipid composition. They contain an extremely high amount of unique classes of glycolipids, constituted of galactolipids, i.e. mono- and digalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG and DGDG) and of a sulfolipid, i.e. sulfoquinovosediacylglycerol (SQDG). A remarkable feature of the evolution from cyanobacteria to higher plants is...
The existence and role of lateral lipid organization in biological membranes has been studied and contested for more than 30 years. Lateral lipid domains, or rafts, are hypothesized as scalable compartments within biological membranes, providing appropriate physical environments to their resident membrane proteins. This implies that lateral lipid organization is associated with a range of...
Most of Earth’s biotopes are hold under extreme environmental conditions, namely distant from the optimal life conditions of humans. Nevertheless, a large biological diversity of organisms inhabit such environments, i.e. extremophiles. For instance, many living organisms reside at hydrothermal sources of deep oceans: temperatures above 100°C, high concentrations of reduced metals, absence of...
Given the probable extremely contrasted environmental conditions at the origins of life (high temperature, pressure and pH), the origin and nature of the first cell membranes is still an open question. Due to complex organic carbon limitations, the first membranes were most likely composed of simpler, single chain fatty acids [1], which raises questions as how they could withstand the very...
