Morris Kates - Böcker

The early history and development of the field of glycolipids was concerned mainly with the predominant glycolipids found in higher animal tissues, namely the glycosphingolipids, as has been extensively documented by J. N. Kanfer and S. Hakomori in Volume 3 of this series. The major glycolipids in organisms of the plant kingdom, however, such as bacteria, yeasts and fungi, algae, and higher plants, are glycoglycerolipids, although glycosphingolipids are also present as minor components in these organisms, except for bacteria. It is of interest that one of the pioneers in glycosphingolipid research, Herbert E. Carter, also pioneered the discovery and structural elucidation of the plant galactosyldiacylglycerols. This class of glycolipids is present in chlo­ roplast membranes and must surely be one of the most ubiquitous and abun­ dant natural substances in the world, thereby deserving the attention of lipid biochemists. It is therefore surprising to learn that in contrast to the glycosphingolipids, which were discovered in the 1870s, glycoglycerolipids were not discovered until the 1950s. Since that time investigations of the structure and distribution of these glycolipids have proceeded at an exponen­ tially increasing rate, and much information is now available for representa­ tives of many genera of bacteria, yeasts, algae, and higher plants. Glycoglyce­ rolipids have also been identified in animal cells, particularly in the brain, testes, and sperm.

This book represents the proceedings of a Satellite Symposium of the XIth International Congress of Biochemistry on "Control of Membrane Fluidity" which was held on July 7, 1979 at the Charles H. Best Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. The meeting was organized by M. Kates and A. Kuksis and was supported by the International Congress of Biochemistry. The purpose of the meeting was to review recent progress in many different areas of investigation bearing on the role of lipids in the structural and functional property of the cell membrane commonly referred to as fluidity. The aim was to emphasize the factors controlling membrane fluidity as studied in appropriate in vitro and in vivo experiments. The Symposium included invited review papers and short papers offered by discussants. In assem· bling the book no distinction has been made between the two types of presentations, nor has any significance been attached to the chronological order of their presentation in the Symposium. As a result it was possible to provide a much more coherent and continuous presentation than that available at the meeting.

This book represents the proceedings of a Satellite Symposium of the XIth International Congress of Biochemistry on "Control of Membrane Fluidity" which was held on July 7, 1979 at the Charles H. Best Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. The meeting was organized by M. Kates and A. Kuksis and was supported by the International Congress of Biochemistry. The purpose of the meeting was to review recent progress in many different areas of investigation bearing on the role of lipids in the structural and functional property of the cell membrane commonly referred to as fluidity. The aim was to emphasize the factors controlling membrane fluidity as studied in appropriate in vitro and in vivo experiments. The Symposium included invited review papers and short papers offered by discussants. In assem· bling the book no distinction has been made between the two types of presentations, nor has any significance been attached to the chronological order of their presentation in the Symposium. As a result it was possible to provide a much more coherent and continuous presentation than that available at the meeting.

The aim of this book is to bring together in one volume the current research and thought on the concept of membrane fluidity as a biological phenomenon. The invited articles are intended to review recent develop­ ments in the areas of membrane research covered and to summarize the current concepts and theories in those areas. The authors have been given ample opportunity to present their thoughts and speculation on membrane fluidity and related phenomena in a more expanded form than is usually possible in reviews of this type. It is hoped that this approach will have a stimulating effect on research and theoretical development in the biomem­ brane field. The chapters in this book are arranged in three sections, the first of which covers physical studies of membrane fluidity and related phenomena on the molecular level. Included are chapters on intermolecular hydrogen bonding between membrane lipids, thermal analysis of membranes, appli­ cation of fluorescence and NMR spectrometry to the study of membrane fluidity, and the effect of drugs and other compounds on membrane stability and fluidity. The second section deals with the regulation of membrane fluidity in microorganisms, plants, and higher organisms by factors such as tem­ perature, fatty acid chain length, lipid desaturation, and polar head group structure.