Membrane fluidity influences the efficiency of oxidative energy metabolism The cells in all biological systems are composed of a limited number of molecular constituents, mainly proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids. Of these, lipids tend to receive the shortest shrift, as they are typically considered to be merely the building blocks of membranes that provide a scaffold in which the “important” molecules, such as enzymes or signaling proteins, reside. In recent years, and with the advent of advanced lipidomics techniques, we have learned that “a lipid is a lipid is a lipid” is simply not true, and that the lipid composition of membranes can have profound effects on the behavior and activity of its resident macromolecules. For example, some lipids, such as members of the phosphatidylinositol family, are important signaling molecules. However, what is less appreciated is that the physical composition of lipid membranes can have profound effects on cellular behavior as well. On page 1186 of this issue, Budin et al. (1) use the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli and the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as model systems to show that the fluidity of a membrane, as determined by its lipid composition, can have huge effects on the efficiency of aerobic energy production (respiration) by the highly hydrophobic, membrane-embedded, oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) system.

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生生不息

膜流动性影响氧化能量代谢的效率所有生物系统中的细胞都由数量有限的分子成分组成，主要是蛋白质、核酸、碳水化合物和脂质。其中，脂质往往受到最短的忽视，因为它们通常被认为只是膜的构建块，提供了“重要”分子（例如酶或信号蛋白）所在的支架。近年来，随着先进的脂质组学技术的出现，我们了解到“脂质就是脂质就是脂质”是不正确的，膜的脂质组成可以对其行为和活性产生深远的影响。常驻大分子。例如，一些脂质，如磷脂酰肌醇家族的成员，是重要的信号分子。然而，鲜为人知的是，脂质膜的物理组成也会对细胞行为产生深远的影响。在本期第 1186 页上，Budin 等人。(1) 使用革兰氏阴性菌大肠杆菌和出芽酵母酿酒酵母作为模型系统，表明膜的流动性（由其脂质成分决定）对有氧能量产生（呼吸）的效率有巨大影响通过高度疏水的膜嵌入氧化磷酸化 (OxPhos) 系统。