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Bacterial Lipid Domains and Their Role in Cell Processes

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Biogenesis of Fatty Acids, Lipids and Membranes

Part of the book series: Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology ((HHLM))

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Abstract

Bacterial plasma membranes, mainly composed of phospholipids and proteins, separate the interior of a cell from their environment and maintain cell homeostasis. Early notions of membrane organization gave rise to a model in which a homogeneous lipid bilayer permits free protein diffusion within the membrane. However, proteins and phospholipids are distributed unevenly in bacterial membranes, and specific membrane localization is often crucial for protein activity or function. Bacterial membrane domains with different lipid compositions and with differential physical properties in comparison with the surrounding membrane have now been described. These membrane domains appear to influence localization, diffusion, and function of membrane proteins, and thereby seem to be involved in many cellular processes. Here, we describe the different types of bacterial membrane domains and discuss their involvement in various bacterial cellular processes.

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Acknowledgments

Research in our laboratory is funded by grants from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT, 178033), and from Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico-Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (DGAPA-UNAM; PAPIIT IN209215 and IA203216). We thank Claudia Rodriguez for her technical assistance.

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  1. Departamento de Genética Molecular, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico

    Adrián F. Alvarez & Dimitris Georgellis

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  1. Adrián F. Alvarez
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  2. Dimitris Georgellis
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Correspondence to Dimitris Georgellis .

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  1. Centro de Ciencias Genomicas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Centro de Ciencias Genomicas, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Otto Geiger

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Alvarez, A.F., Georgellis, D. (2018). Bacterial Lipid Domains and Their Role in Cell Processes. In: Geiger, O. (eds) Biogenesis of Fatty Acids, Lipids and Membranes. Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43676-0_39-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43676-0_39-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-43676-0

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