Biophysical properties of glycerolipids and their impact on membrane architecture and biology

International audienceCellular membranes have a remarkable variety of lipids, and different organelles have different lipid compositions. Changes in lipid composition can alter the surface charge, thickness, and fluidity of a membrane characteristics that affect, for example, photosynthesis efficiency or vesicular trafficking. Therefore, for proper organelle function, these parameters must be kept within an appropriate range and must be regulated. Due to their low mobility, plant and algae are dependent on their environment and face sudden changes such as light, temperature or osmotic variations, that will affect membrane features. This review focus on the physical and structural properties of glycerolipids and their impact on membrane specificities in response to environmental cues. Here, we present an overview of the methods that are currently used to establish biophysical membrane properties. We then describe the common glycerolipids present in plants and algae, with their characteristic and their distribution within cell membranes. In the light of the organelle lipid composition, we illustrate how membranes are able to sense and adapt their architecture to maintain their homeostasis and their properties in response to environmental stresses. Thanks to the improved techniques recently available to study membranes in their native context, we are now discovering that the regulation of membrane properties by lipids is far more complex and entangled than it was originally thought