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Introduction to Molecular and
Cellular Biology
Lecture 15
1. Plasma Membranes
2. The Fluid Mosaic Model
3. Membrane Movement and
Transport
Narman Mortagy
University of Guelph - MCB
Slide 1 BIOL*1090 - Winter 2025
Summary from Lecture 14
• Distinction between DNA and RNA viruses.
• Basic structures of viruses: 1) a nucleic acid genome, and 2) a protein
capsid that covers the genome.
• Lytic vs integrative viral infection. Provirus = viral DNA inserted in host
genome.
• Examples of different subtypes of viruses: retroviruses, filoviruses,
adenoviruses, bacteriophages, etc.
• Main factor that determines what cell type a virus can infect—surface
expression of a specific surface protein.
Slide 2
Summary from Lecture 14
RNA vaccines work by tricking the
body’s cells into producing a
fragment of a virus, an antigen, from
an RNA template. One strategy to
make them more effective at lower
doses — or in a single dose — is to
incorporate the instructions for
assembling a replicase, which can
make lots of copies of the RNA
template for producing antigens.
Dendritic cell
Slide 3
Summary from Lecture 14
No required textbook readings for Lecture 14 !!!
Optional but highly recommended !!!
Opinion article in The New York Times by Carl Zimmer
The Secret Life of a Coronavirus (February 26, 2021)
National Cancer Institute (USA) by Carl Zimmer
Can mRNA Vaccines Help Treat Cancer (January 20, 2022)
See CourseLink Lecture 14 to download PDF
Slide 4
Function of Biological Membranes
1) Define cell boundary Plasma membrane specific role
2) Define enclose compartments Organelles (mitochondria, Golgi, etc.)
3) Control movement of material into and out of cell Plasma membrane specific role
4) Allow response to external stimuli Plasma membrane specific role
5) Enable interactions between cells Plasma membrane specific role
6) Provide scaffold for biochemical activities Energy transduction
mitochondria chloroplast
Slide 5
The Plasma Membrane
Electron micrograph of a muscle cell
The PM is the most studied cell
membrane.
PM: plasma membrane
SR: sarcoplasmic reticulum
Slide 6
The Plasma Membrane
Red blood cells have been particularly
useful as a model for studies of
membrane structure as they do not
contain nuclei or internal membranes.
Slide 7
The Plasma Membrane
Trilaminar structure
made of a phospholipid
bilayer.
~ 6 nm thick
Slide 8
Phospholipids & The Plasma Membrane
• The trilaminar structure is a lipid
bilayer.
• The plasma membrane is about 6
nm thick—very consistent
between cell types.
• The lipid bilayer is made up of
phospholipids.
Slide 9
Phospholipids & The Plasma Membrane
Lipid molecules, like phospholipids, spontaneously aggregate to bury
their hydrophobic tails in the interior and expose their hydrophilic
heads to water.
Bilayer sheet
Micelle
Liposome
A molecule will always be in a conformation in which it is the most
stable. Micelles are usually formed by fatty acids with only one
hydrophobic chain.
Slide 10
Phospholipids & The Plasma Membrane
Phospholipid
Polar
Non-
Polar
Phospholipids are amphipathic molecules, which means that they
have both hydrophobic (non-polar) and hydrophilic (polar regions).
Slide 11
Phospholipids & The Plasma Membrane
Phospholipid
Hydrophylic: a molecule attracted to water molecules and tends to be
dissolved by water.
Hydrophobic: a molecular not attracted by water or repelled by it.
Slide 12
Phospholipid Structure
Left: Schematic drawing
Middle: Formula
Right: Space-filling model
Phospholipids consist of two fatty
acyl molecules esterified at the
stereospecific numbering (sn) sn-1
and sn-2 positions of glycerol, and
contain a head group linked by a
phosphate residue at the sn-3
position.
Slide 13
Phospholipid Structure
Phosphatidylethanolamine
Phosphatidylcholine
Phosphatidylserine
Phosphatidylinositol
Lodish, Fig. 7-8
Slide 14
Phospholipid Synthesis
Where does phospholipids making the plasma membrane come
from?
Synthesis occurs at the interface of the cytosol and
outer endoplasmic reticulum membrane, which
has all the molecular machinery (enzymes) for synthesis and distribution.
Phospholipid synthesis is a multistep process, requiring the activity
of many specialized effectors.
Slide 15
Phospholipid Synthesis
Where does phospholipids making the plasma membrane come
from?
Cytoplasmic
Derived from carbohydrates via the glycolytic pathway. Floppase
Slide 16 Exo
Phospholipid Synthesis
Eventually a vesicle will come off from the ER containing phospholipids
destined for the cytoplasmic cellular membrane on its exterior leaflet and
phospholipids destined for the exoplasmic cellular membrane on its inner
leaflet.
Lodish, Fig. 7-5 Lodish, Fig. 7-6
Slide 17
Phospholipid Synthesis
Slide 18
The Fluid Mosaic Model of Biological
Membranes
Fluid — individual lipid molecules move
Mosaic — diverse ‘particles’ like proteins, carbohydrates, and
cholesterol penetrate the lipid layer.
Slide 19
The Fluid Mosaic Model
Proposed by Seymour Jonathan Singer and Garth Nicolson in 1972.
Their model is considered the most accurate model of the plasma
membrane.
The plasma membrane is viewed as a two-dimensional liquid that
restricts the diffusion of membrane components.
Different proteins are embedded
in the phospholipid bilayer.
Components are mobile.
Components can interact.
Slide 20
Dynamics of Plasma Membrane
Lipids move easily, laterally, within leaflet.
Lipids movement to other leaflet is difficult
and slow.
Membrane proteins diffuse within the bilayer:
• Movement of proteins is restricted.
• Rapid movement is spatially limited.
• Long range diffusion is slow.
• Biochemical modification can alter protein mobility
in the membrane—an important feature for signal
transduction.
Slide 21
Dynamics of Plasma Membrane
The Frye-Edidin experiment (1970) Mouse cell Human cell
(blue surface protein) (green surface protein)
Elegant experiment that inspired Singer
and Nicolson for their Mosaic Fluid
model.
Forced cell fusion
Just after fusion of the two cells the
surface proteins are segregated, but
after a short period of time, the surface
proteins of both cells diffuse around the
unified membrane and mingle rather
than being locked to their original
location.
See also Figure 5.8 in Morris
Slide 22
Structure of Biological Membranes
All membranes share common properties:
• Approximately 6 nm thick (with water)
• Stable
• Flexible
• Capable of self assembly
Different membranes contain different types of lipids and
proteins, giving them different functions.
Differences between cells as well as within an individual
cell.
Lipid rafts
Slide 23
Biological Membranes Differences:
Some Examples
Below: Electron micrograph of a nerve cell
axon (cross section) showing myelin sheath,
a modified plasma membrane structure.
Right: immunofluorescence and schematic
images of an oligodendrocyte.
Oligodendrocyte
Axon
Slide 25
Biological Membranes Differences:
Some Examples
The inner membrane of inner membrane
mitochondria contains a very high
concentration of protein necessary
for electron transport chain and
ATP synthesis (Lecture 17).
In the opposite, myelin sheaths have
very few types of transmembrane
protein.
Myelin sheath simply consists of layers
of plasma membrane wrapped around a
neuron’s axon. This increases the
speed at which electrical impulses
propagate along the myelinated fiber.
Slide 24
Membrane Proteins
Three classes of membrane proteins: Integral protein
Fatty acid
anchors
INTEGRAL membrane proteins
1
span the lipid bilayer
PERIPHERAL membrane
2 proteins associate with the
surfaces of the lipid bilayer
LIPID-ANCHORED proteins 3
3
attach to a lipid in the bilayer. Integral membrane proteins
Peripheral
1 2
membrane proteins
Cytoplasm
Slide 26
Integral Protein Functions: Examples
1
Different integral (transmembrane)
proteins have different functions.
For instance:
1) Transport of nutrients and ions.
2) Cell-cell communication (gap
junction)
3) Attachment
2
Epithelial cell
3
Slide 27
Symmetry of Biological Membranes
Biological membranes are asymmetrical.
Two leaflets have distinct lipid composition in many plasma
membranes, the outer leaflet contains glycolipids and glycoproteins
(lipids and proteins with carbohydrates attached to them).
Slide 28
Fluidity of Biological Membranes
Temperature is an important variable affecting the fluidity
of biological membranes:
• Warming increases fluidity ⟶ liquid crystal
• Cooling decreases fluidity ⟶ crystalline gel
Transition temperature
Liquid
Crystalline crystal state
gel state
Slide 29
Fluidity of Biological Membranes
Membrane fluidity is crucial to cell function.
Membrane fluidity is determined by the nature of lipids in membrane:
• Unsaturated lipids increase fluidity
• Saturated lipids reduce fluidity
Slide 30
Fluidity of Biological Membranes
In response to changes in temperature, lipid composition of membranes
can be changed by:
1) desaturation of lipids
2) exchange of lipid chains
Carbon-carbon
double bond
Slide 31
Fluidity of Biological Membranes
BALANCE between ordered (rigid) structure and disordered structure
allows:
• Mechanical support and flexibility.
• Membrane assembly and modification.
• Dynamic interactions between membrane components (e.g. proteins
can come together reversibly).
Slide 32
Fluidity of Biological Membranes
Cholesterol modulates membrane fluidity
Cholesterol acts as a bidirectional regulator of membrane fluidity
because at high temperatures, it stabilizes the membrane and raises
its melting point, whereas at low temperatures it intercalates
between the phospholipids and prevents them from clustering
together and stiffening.
Slide 33
Fluidity of Biological Membranes
Cholesterol modulates membrane fluidity
• Alters packing and flexibility of lipids.
• If added to a liquid crystal membrane, fluidity will decrease.
• If added to a crystalline gel membrane, fluidity will increase.
Slide 34
Readings
Required reading (material will be covered in final exam):
Morris
Chapter 5, Sections 5.1-5.2 and Figure 5.8 (Organizing Principles:
Lipids, Membranes and Cell Compartments)
Optional: More detailed description
Lodish
Chapter 10, Section 7.1-7.2 (Biomembrane Structure)
Slide 35
