Population-Level Membrane Diversity Triggers Growth and Division of Protocells.

ABSTRACT: To date, multiple mechanisms have been described for the growth and division of model protocells, all of which exploit the lipid dynamics of fatty acids. In some examples, the more heterogeneous aggregate consisting of fatty acid and diacyl phospholipid or fatty acid and peptide grows at the expense of the more homogeneous aggregate containing a restricted set of lipids with similar dynamics. Imbalances between surface area and volume during growth can generate filamentous vesicles, which are typically divided by shear forces. Here, we describe another pathway for growth and division that depends simply on differences in the compositions of fatty acid membranes without additional components. Growth is driven by the thermodynamically favorable mixing of lipids between two populations, i.e.,

SUBMITTER: Toparlak OD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8395648 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature