Post with 1 note
The Glycerol (L Glycerol) used in Archaea’s Phospholipid Cell Membrane is the opposite optical isomer to that used by Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes (D Glycerol). As enzymes generally only work for one optical isomer, this suggests that Archaea use completely different enzymes for synthesising phospholipids than Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes.
Post with 5 notes
The bond between the lipid and gylcerol in Archaea’s Cell Membrane is an ether bond. This differs from Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes, who have ester bonds. Ether bonds are more stable than ester bonds and this added stability may contribute to Archaea’s ability to survive in extreme environments (high acidity, high temperature etc).
