Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-6-29
pubmed:abstractText
The ability of seeds and other anhydrous plant forms to survive the withdrawal of water must involve a mechanism for protecting the integrity of cellular membranes. Evidence from animal systems implicates sugars as protective components, and we have tested the changes in mesomorphic phase state of phospholipid model membranes upon hydration and dehydration in the presence of sucrose and/or sucrose plus raffinose. X-ray diffraction studies of dry dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) indicate that the presence of sucrose lowers the chain order/disorder transition temperature to that of hydrated lipid; likewise, the lamellar repeat spacings showed the dry DMPC/sucrose mixture to be similar to that of the hydrated lipid. These results support the proposed potential of sugars to substitute for water in biomembranes. If sucrose is to serve as a protectant during desiccation of seeds, its tendency to crystallize would lessen its effectiveness. Raffinose is known to serve as an inhibitor of sucrose crystallization, and is abundant in seeds. The addition of raffinose to make DMPC/sucrose/raffinose mixtures (1/1/0.3 mass ratio) prevented sucrose crystallization, suggesting this as a possible in vivo role for raffinose.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:status
PubMed-not-MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Mar
pubmed:issn
0032-0889
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
86
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
754-8
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-9-14
pubmed:year
1988
pubmed:articleTitle
Lipid-sugar interactions : relevance to anhydrous biology.
pubmed:affiliation
Section of Biochemistry, Molecular, and Cell Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article