A bacterium is suddenly expelled from a warm human intestine into the cold world outside (hey, it’s been a cold December!). Which of the following adjustments might the bacterium make to maintain the same level of membrane fluidity? Adaptation of Membrane Fluidity In Cold Temperature: A Bacterium’s Journey

Adaptation of Membrane Fluidity In Cold Temperature: A Bacterium’s Journey

When a bacterium is suddenly expelled from a warm human intestine into the cold world outside, it must make certain adjustments in order to maintain the same level of membrane fluidity. One of the adjustments the bacterium must make is an increase in fatty acid saturation of its membrane lipids. This is due to the fact that fatty acid saturation increases membrane fluidity at low temperatures (Giorgio et al., 2019). In addition, the bacterium may incorporate more unsaturated fatty acid molecules into its membrane, which can also increase membrane fluidity (Chen et al., 2016). As temperature decreases, the bacterium must also adjust its membrane composition in order to prevent the membrane lipids from forming a gel-like state. To achieve this, the bacterium may increase the concentration of sphingolipids and cholesterol in its membrane (Chen et al., 2020). This will reduce the chances of lipid-lipid interactions and result in increased membrane fluidity. Moreover, the bacterium could also increase its concentration of phospholipids, which can help maintain membrane fluidity at low temperatures (Chen et al., 2021). Cont…