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Membrane Homeostasis in Bacteria upon pH Challenge

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Biogenesis of Fatty Acids, Lipids and Membranes

Part of the book series: Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology ((HHLM))

Abstract

Bacteria are frequently exposed to acid stress. In order to survive these unfavorable conditions, they have evolved a set of resistance mechanisms, which include the pumping of protons out of the cytoplasm, the production of ammonia, proton-consuming decarboxylation reactions, and modifications of the membrane lipid composition. In this chapter, I will discuss the changes in membrane composition that have been described in bacteria to be part of the adaptation to acid stress conditions. The cytoplasmic membrane is a major barrier to proton influx in acid-treated cells. However, there is no single one membrane adaptation used by all bacteria in response to acid stress. Rather, different bacteria seem to use different strategies to adjust their membrane lipid composition in response to an increase in proton concentration.

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Acknowledgments

Work in the laboratory was supported by grants to C.S. from SEP-CONACyT (237713) and PAPIIT-UNAM (IN202413, IN208116).

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  1. Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenida Universidad s/n, Colonia Chamilpa, CP 62210, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Christian Sohlenkamp

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  1. Christian Sohlenkamp
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Correspondence to Christian Sohlenkamp .

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  1. Centro de Ciencias Genomicas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Centro de Ciencias Genomicas, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Otto Geiger

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Sohlenkamp, C. (2017). Membrane Homeostasis in Bacteria upon pH Challenge. In: Geiger, O. (eds) Biogenesis of Fatty Acids, Lipids and Membranes. Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43676-0_57-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43676-0_57-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-43676-0

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