ROLE OF MEMBRANE LIPID COMPOSITION IN PLASMA MEMBRANE DYNAMICS, ORGANIZATION AND PROTEIN FUNCTION

Abstract

The plasma membrane is composed of a plethora of structurally diverse lipids and proteins. Specific chemical and physical properties of various lipids result in unique membrane features in bulk. Proteins and lipids form nanoscale transient assemblies in the plasma membrane which play essential roles during the signaling pathways. This thesis addresses the question of how membrane lipid composition influences the function of membrane-interacting proteins and the properties of the plasma membrane. Here, imaging fluorescence correlation spectroscopy has been used to analyze the membrane organization and dynamics quantitatively. First, the experimental validation of the parameters obtained from ImFCS has been done using AFM. Then ImFCS in combination with molecular dynamics simulation has been used to understand the membrane interaction mechanism of dehydrins. Next, the role of specific lipids in modulating the biophysical properties of plasma membrane organization and dynamics has been studied using biophysical methods and mass spectrometry-based lipid analysis.