Total lipids with short and long acyl chains from Acholeplasma form nonlamellar phases.

The cell-wall-less bacterium Acholeplasma laidlawii A-EF22 synthesizes eight glycerolipids. Some of them form lamellar phases, whereas others are able to form normal or reversed nonlamellar phases. In this study we examined the phase properties of total lipid extracts with limiting average acyl chain lengths of 15 and 19 carbon atoms. The temperature at which these extracts formed reversed hexagonal (HII) phases differed by 5-10 degreesC when the water contents were 20-30 wt%. Thus the cells adjust the ratio between lamellar-forming and nonlamellar-forming lipids to the acyl chain lengths. Because short acyl chains generally increase the potential of lipids to form bilayers, it was judged interesting to determine which of the A. laidlawii A lipids are able to form reversed nonlamellar phases with short acyl chains. The two candidates with this ability are monoacyldiglucosyldiacylglycerol (MADGlcDAG) and monoglucosyldiacylglycerol. The average acyl chain lengths were 14.7 and 15.1 carbon atoms, and the degrees of acyl chain unsaturation were 32 and 46 mol%, respectively. The only liquid crystalline phase formed by MADGlcDAG is an HII phase. Monoglucosyldiacylglycerol forms reversed cubic (Ia3d) and HII phases at high temperatures. Thus, even when the organism is grown with short fatty acids, it synthesizes two lipids that have the capacity to maintain the nonlamellar tendency of the lipid bilayer. MADGlcDAG in particular contributes very powerfully to this tendency.