Ap Bio Course Notes Chapter 7
Overview: Life at the Edge
The plasma membrane separates the living cell from its nonliving surroundings.
This thin barrier, 8 nm thick, controls traffic into and out of the cell.
Like all biological membranes, the plasma membrane is selectively permeable, allowing some substances to cross more easily than others.
Concept 7.1 Cellular membranes are fluid mosaics of lipids and proteins
The main macromolecules in membranes are lipids and proteins, but carbohydrates are also important.
The most abundant lipids are phospholipids.
Phospholipids and most other membrane constituents are amphipathic molecules.
Amphipathic molecules have both hydrophobic regions and hydrophilic regions.
The arrangement of phospholipids and proteins in biological membranes is described by the fluid mosaic model.
Membrane models have evolved to fit new data.
Models of membranes were developed long before membranes were first seen with electron microscopes in the 1950s.
In 1915, membranes isolated from red blood cells were chemically analyzed and found to be composed of lipids and proteins.
In 1925, E. Gorter and F. Grendel reasoned that cell membranes must be a phospholipid bilayer two molecules thick.
The molecules in the bilayer are arranged such that the hydrophobic fatty acid tails are sheltered from water while the hydrophilic phosphate groups interact with water.
Actual membranes adhere more strongly to water than do artificial membranes composed only of phospholipids.
One suggestion was that proteins on the surface of the membrane increased adhesion.
In 1935, H. Davson and J. Danielli proposed a sandwich model in which the phospholipid bilayer lies between two layers of globular proteins.
Early images from electron microscopes seemed to support the Davson-Danielli model, and until the 1960s, it was widely accepted as the structure of the plasma membrane and internal membranes.
Further investigation revealed two problems.
First, not all membranes were alike.
The plasma membrane separates the living cell from its nonliving surroundings.
This thin barrier, 8 nm thick, controls traffic into and out of the cell.
Like all biological membranes, the plasma membrane is selectively permeable, allowing some substances to cross more easily than others.
Concept 7.1 Cellular membranes are fluid mosaics of lipids and proteins
The main macromolecules in membranes are lipids and proteins, but carbohydrates are also important.
The most abundant lipids are phospholipids.
Phospholipids and most other membrane constituents are amphipathic molecules.
Amphipathic molecules have both hydrophobic regions and hydrophilic regions.
The arrangement of phospholipids and proteins in biological membranes is described by the fluid mosaic model.
Membrane models have evolved to fit new data.
Models of membranes were developed long before membranes were first seen with electron microscopes in the 1950s.
In 1915, membranes isolated from red blood cells were chemically analyzed and found to be composed of lipids and proteins.
In 1925, E. Gorter and F. Grendel reasoned that cell membranes must be a phospholipid bilayer two molecules thick.
The molecules in the bilayer are arranged such that the hydrophobic fatty acid tails are sheltered from water while the hydrophilic phosphate groups interact with water.
Actual membranes adhere more strongly to water than do artificial membranes composed only of phospholipids.
One suggestion was that proteins on the surface of the membrane increased adhesion.
In 1935, H. Davson and J. Danielli proposed a sandwich model in which the phospholipid bilayer lies between two layers of globular proteins.
Early images from electron microscopes seemed to support the Davson-Danielli model, and until the 1960s, it was widely accepted as the structure of the plasma membrane and internal membranes.
Further investigation revealed two problems.
First, not all membranes were alike.