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Cross-sectional view of the structures that can be formed by phospholipids in an aqueous solution. A biological membrane, biomembrane or cell membrane is a selectively permeable membrane that separates the interior of a cell from the external environment or creates intracellular compartments by serving as a boundary between one part of the cell and another.
Prokaryotes have only one lipid bilayer - the cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane). Many prokaryotes also have a cell wall, but the cell wall is composed of proteins or long chain carbohydrates, not lipids. In contrast, eukaryotes have a range of organelles including the nucleus, mitochondria, lysosomes and endoplasmic reticulum ...
Phospholipids [1] are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typically have omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA integrated as part of the phospholipid molecule. [2]
Once enough of the right compounds were released into the medium, the development of the first prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and multi-cellular organisms could be achieved. [8] [citation needed] However, the first cell membrane could not have been composed of phospholipids due its low permeability, as ions would not able to pass through the membrane.
Membrane lipids are a group of compounds (structurally similar to fats and oils) which form the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane. The three major classes of membrane lipids are phospholipids, glycolipids, and cholesterol. Lipids are amphiphilic: they have one end that is soluble in water ('polar') and an ending that is soluble in fat ...
Rather than being made up of phospholipids, early membranes may have formed from monolayers or bilayers of simple fatty acids, which may have formed more readily in a prebiotic environment. [32] Fatty acids have been synthesized in laboratories under a variety of prebiotic conditions and have been found on meteorites, suggesting their natural ...
The cell membrane has different lipid and protein compositions in distinct types of cells and may have therefore specific names for certain cell types. Sarcolemma in muscle cells: Sarcolemma is the name given to the cell membrane of muscle cells. [46] Although the sarcolemma is similar to other cell membranes, it has other functions that set it ...
The phospholipids of archaea are unusual in four ways: They have membranes composed of glycerol-ether lipids, whereas bacteria and eukaryotes have membranes composed mainly of glycerol-ester lipids. [131] The difference is the type of bond that joins the lipids to the glycerol moiety; the two types are shown in yellow in the figure at the right.