Slow fusion of liposomes composed of membrane-spanning lipids

The fusion characteristics of large unilamellar liposomes composed of bipolar tetraether lipids extracted from the thermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, was investigated. These lipids span the entire membrane and form single monolayer liposomes in aqueous media [Elferink, M.G.L., de Wit, J.G., Demel, R., Driessen, A.J.M. and Konings, W.N., (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 1375-1381]. In the presence of calcium-phosphate, slow mixing of the aqueous liposome contents and membrane lipids occurred, demonstrating that these liposomes are fusion-competent. The fusion process was essentially nonleaky. The rate of fusion increased with the pH and the concentration of calcium and phosphate. Fusion resulted in an increase of the size of the liposomes. These data demonstrate that a monolayer organization of lipids in a membrane does not per se interfere with membrane fusion competence. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd