Premium
Electron microscopy of mesomorphic structures of aqueous lipid phases II. Isolated lipids and membrane structure of Polystictus versicolor
Author(s) -
Eins S.,
Kahl H.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
zeitschrift für allgemeine mikrobiologie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.58
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1521-4028
pISSN - 0044-2208
DOI - 10.1002/jobm.19720120302
Subject(s) - lamellar structure , osmium tetroxide , membrane , electron microscope , crystallography , chemistry , aqueous solution , cryofixation , phase diagram , hexagonal phase , phase (matter) , hexagonal crystal system , organic chemistry , biochemistry , physics , optics
Phospholipids extracted from a microorganism — the basidiomycete Polystictus versicolor — form liquid‐crystalline structures in water. After fixation by osmium tetroxide at known water contents and temperatures between +4 and +38 °C, ultrathin sections of embedded material were examined electron microscopically. As a result, part of the phase diagram was established and corresponding phases were characterized by their structural parameters at different conditions. Phases show micellar, lamellar, and hexagonal structures, respectively. Parameters of the lamellar phase were compared with the width of different types of membranes present in the intact organism. The results are not contradictorily to a far‐reaching bimolecular arrangement of lipids in membranes (unit membrane concept) and furthermore support the role of lipid association behaviour for cross‐sectional membrane patterns.