Biochemistry and Biophysics of Archaea Membranes

Dear colleagues,

Archaea are a domain of life that is distinctly different from bacteria and eukarya, with the most noticeable difference lying in their cell membrane. To date, archaeal lipid membranes and membrane proteins have been extensively studied. However, many critical biochemical and biophysical issues related to archaea membranes remain elusive. Archaea inhabit extreme environments such as volcanic areas; deep sea hydrothermal vents; as well as non-extreme environments such as soils, lakes, and pelagic areas. How the cytoplasmic membrane of archaea adapts to such a wide variety of environments is still an active research area. All archaea contain an S-layer as the outermost shell. Protein insertion into and transport across the cytoplasmic membrane, as well as protein interaction with the S-layer, are currently topics of many interesting studies. Why the dominating lipids in the cytoplasmic membrane of crenarchaeota do not appear in the microvesicles released from the cell is a mystery and a topic currently under active investigation. Tetraether lipids, which are the dominating lipid species, particularly in crenarchaeota, are extremely stable. In recent years, there is an increase in archaeosome usage for gene and drug delivery. As such, it is timely to compile a Special Issue to report or review the new findings on archaea membrane.

The topics to be covered in this Special Issue entitled “Biochemistry and Biophysics of Archaea Membranes” include but are not limited to the following:

- The structural characterization of newly found native or newly synthesized archaeal lipids;
- Lipidomics or proteomics of archaea membranes;
- The structure (including protein folding and trafficking) and function of archaea membrane proteins;
- The dynamics and organization of archaea membranes;
- Archaea membrane adaptation to environmental stress;
- Studies on microvesicles released from archaea;
- Computer simulations of archaea membranes;
- The use of archaeosomes and archaea lipid planar membranes for technology applications.

Prof. Dr. Parkson Lee-Gau Chong
Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Freisleben
Guest Editors

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