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Alkanes as Membrane Regulators of the Response of Early Membranes to Extreme Temperatures

One of the first steps in the origin of life was the formation of a membrane, a physical boundary that allowed the retention of molecules in concentrated solutions. The proto-membrane was likely formed by self-assembly of simple readily available amphiphiles, such as short-chain fatty acids and alco...

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Autores principales: Misuraca, Loreto, Caliò, Antonino, LoRicco, Josephine G., Hoffmann, Ingo, Winter, Roland, Demé, Bruno, Peters, Judith, Oger, Philippe M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8949167/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35330196
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life12030445
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author Misuraca, Loreto
Caliò, Antonino
LoRicco, Josephine G.
Hoffmann, Ingo
Winter, Roland
Demé, Bruno
Peters, Judith
Oger, Philippe M.
author_facet Misuraca, Loreto
Caliò, Antonino
LoRicco, Josephine G.
Hoffmann, Ingo
Winter, Roland
Demé, Bruno
Peters, Judith
Oger, Philippe M.
author_sort Misuraca, Loreto
collection PubMed
description One of the first steps in the origin of life was the formation of a membrane, a physical boundary that allowed the retention of molecules in concentrated solutions. The proto-membrane was likely formed by self-assembly of simple readily available amphiphiles, such as short-chain fatty acids and alcohols. In the commonly accepted scenario that life originated near hydrothermal systems, how these very simple membrane bilayers could be stable enough in time remains a debated issue. We used various complementary techniques such as dynamic light scattering, small angle neutron scattering, neutron spin-echo spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to explore the stability of a novel protomembrane system in which the insertion of alkanes in the midplane is proposed to shift membrane stability to higher temperatures, pH, and hydrostatic pressures. We show that, in absence of alkanes, protomembranes transition into lipid droplets when temperature increases; while in presence of alkanes, membranes persist for longer times in a concentration-dependent manner. Proto-membranes containing alkanes are stable at higher temperatures and for longer times, have a higher bending rigidity, and can revert more easily to their initial state upon temperature variations. Hence, the presence of membrane intercalating alkanes could explain how the first membranes could resist the harsh and changing environment of the hydrothermal systems. Furthermore, modulating the quantity of alkanes in the first membranes appears as a possible strategy to adapt the proto-membrane behavior according to temperature fluctuations, and it offers a first glimpse into the evolution of the first membranes.
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spelling pubmed-89491672022-03-26 Alkanes as Membrane Regulators of the Response of Early Membranes to Extreme Temperatures Misuraca, Loreto Caliò, Antonino LoRicco, Josephine G. Hoffmann, Ingo Winter, Roland Demé, Bruno Peters, Judith Oger, Philippe M. Life (Basel) Article One of the first steps in the origin of life was the formation of a membrane, a physical boundary that allowed the retention of molecules in concentrated solutions. The proto-membrane was likely formed by self-assembly of simple readily available amphiphiles, such as short-chain fatty acids and alcohols. In the commonly accepted scenario that life originated near hydrothermal systems, how these very simple membrane bilayers could be stable enough in time remains a debated issue. We used various complementary techniques such as dynamic light scattering, small angle neutron scattering, neutron spin-echo spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to explore the stability of a novel protomembrane system in which the insertion of alkanes in the midplane is proposed to shift membrane stability to higher temperatures, pH, and hydrostatic pressures. We show that, in absence of alkanes, protomembranes transition into lipid droplets when temperature increases; while in presence of alkanes, membranes persist for longer times in a concentration-dependent manner. Proto-membranes containing alkanes are stable at higher temperatures and for longer times, have a higher bending rigidity, and can revert more easily to their initial state upon temperature variations. Hence, the presence of membrane intercalating alkanes could explain how the first membranes could resist the harsh and changing environment of the hydrothermal systems. Furthermore, modulating the quantity of alkanes in the first membranes appears as a possible strategy to adapt the proto-membrane behavior according to temperature fluctuations, and it offers a first glimpse into the evolution of the first membranes. MDPI 2022-03-17 /pmc/articles/PMC8949167/ /pubmed/35330196 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life12030445 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Misuraca, Loreto
Caliò, Antonino
LoRicco, Josephine G.
Hoffmann, Ingo
Winter, Roland
Demé, Bruno
Peters, Judith
Oger, Philippe M.
Alkanes as Membrane Regulators of the Response of Early Membranes to Extreme Temperatures
title Alkanes as Membrane Regulators of the Response of Early Membranes to Extreme Temperatures
title_full Alkanes as Membrane Regulators of the Response of Early Membranes to Extreme Temperatures
title_fullStr Alkanes as Membrane Regulators of the Response of Early Membranes to Extreme Temperatures
title_full_unstemmed Alkanes as Membrane Regulators of the Response of Early Membranes to Extreme Temperatures
title_short Alkanes as Membrane Regulators of the Response of Early Membranes to Extreme Temperatures
title_sort alkanes as membrane regulators of the response of early membranes to extreme temperatures
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8949167/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35330196
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life12030445
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