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A molecular dynamics study of an archaeal tetraether lipid membrane: Comparison with a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer
Author(s) -
Nicolas J. P.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/s11745-005-1465-2
Subject(s) - thermoplasma acidophilum , dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine , lipid bilayer , membrane , model lipid bilayer , lipid bilayer phase behavior , molecular dynamics , bilayer , cyclopentane , chemistry , biophysics , biology , crystallography , biochemistry , stereochemistry , phospholipid , phosphatidylcholine , computational chemistry , enzyme
Molecular dynamics simulations of an archaeal membrane made up of bipolar tetraether lipids and a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lipid membrane were performed and compared for the first time. The simulated archaeal membrane consists of a pure monolayer of asymmetrical lipids, analogous to the main polar lipid [MPL; Swain, M., Brisson, J.‐R., Sprott, G.D., Cooper, F.P., and Patel, G.B., (1997) Identification of β‐1‐Gulose as the Sugar moiety of the Main Polar Lipid of Thermoplasma acidophilum, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1345 , 56–64] found in T. acidophilum , an extremophile archaeal organism. This simulated membrane lipid contains two cyclopentane rings located on one of the two aliphatic chains of the lipid. The archaeal membrane is simulated at 62°C, slightly above the optimal growth temperature of T. acidophilum . We compared the organization of this tetraether lipid monolayer with a DPPC bilayer simulated at 50°C, both of them being modeled in a partially hydrated state. Our results assess the singularity of the tetrather lipid organization, in particular the influence of the spanning structure on the molecular ordering within the archaeal membrane.