Membrane curvature induces cardiolipin sorting

• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-019-0471-x
• Publication Date: 2019-06-20T10:03:04Z
• Authors: Elena Beltrán-Her...; Feng-Ching Tsai; Samuel Salinas-Al...; Francisco J. Cao; Patricia Bassereau; Francisco Monroy
• Keywords: Membrane Curvature

Abstract Cardiolipin is a cone-shaped lipid predominantly localized in curved membrane sites of bacteria and the mitochondrial cristae. This specific localization has been argued to be geometry-driven, since CL’s conical shape relaxes curvature frustration. Although previous evidence suggests coupling between CL concentration vivo, no precise experimental data are available for curvature-based sorting vitro. Here, we test this hypothesis experiments that isolate effects lipid-bilayer nanotubes. observed with increasing tube curvature, reaching maximum at optimal concentrations, fact compatible self-associative clustering. Observations model elasticity including van der Waals entropy, from which negative intrinsic −1.1 nm −1 predicted CL. The results contribute understanding physicochemical interplay composition, providing key insights into bacterial organization dynamics.