Exam 4 Flashcards
Biological membranes are __layers
bilayers
What are biological membranes made of?
lipids and proteins
(sometimes glycolipids/glycoproteins)
What are 3 important properties of biological membranes?
- fluid (lipid/protein migration occurs)
- mosaic (not uniform)
- asymmetric (two layers are not the same)
Why are membranes arranged into a bilayer?
their lipids are amphipathic
What are the 4 types of membrane lipids?
- phospholipids
- glycolipids
- sterols
- ether lipids
What are the possible backbones of phospholipids?
glycerol or sphingosine
(glycero-phospholipids or shingo-phospholipids)
What are the possible backbones of glycolipids?
glycerol or sphingosine
Do humans have ether membrane lipids?
no (archaebacteria)
How many carbons is a glycerol backbone?
3
How many carbons is a sphingosine backbone?
18
How many tails do glycero-phospholipids have?
2
How many tails do sphino-phospholipids have?
1
What determines the function of a phospholipids?
functional group added to the head of lipid
Some glycero-phospholipids have _____ linkage at C1 position of glycerol
ether
On glycero-glycolipids, the C3 is linked to _________ instead of a phosphate group (like phospholipids)
galactose
What kind of membrane lipid is most common especially in plants?
glycero-glycolipids
What glycolipids is abundant in the brain and nerve tissue?
sphingo-glycolipids
What membrane lipid is a derivates of ceramides?
sphingo-glycolipids
What do sterols look like?
4 fused carbon ring
What is the major sterol in humans?
cholesterol
What is special about ether lipids?
resistant to high temperatures and extreme pHs
Lipid composition of membranes depends on their __________
function
Phophatidycholine and sphingomyelin are mainly in the ______ monolayer
outer
Phosphatidyl serine and phosphatidylinositol are mainly in the _______ layer
inner