A tuneable minimal cell membrane reveals that two lipid species suffice for life
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
All cells are encapsulated by a lipid membrane that facilitates their interactions with the environment. How cells manage diverse mixtures of lipids, which dictate membrane property and function, is experimentally challenging to address. Here, we present an approach to tune and minimize membrane lipid composition in the bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides and its derived ‘minimal cell’ (JCVI-Syn3A), revealing that a two-component lipidome can support life. Systematic reintroduction of phospholipids with different features demonstrates that acyl chain diversity is more important for growth than head group diversity. By tuning lipid chirality, we explore the lipid divide between Archaea and the rest of life, showing that ancestral lipidomes could have been heterochiral. However, in these simple organisms, heterochirality leads to impaired cellular fitness. Thus, our approach offers a tunable minimal membrane system to explore the fundamental lipidomic requirements for life, thereby extending the concept of minimal life from the genome to the lipidome.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
A RAPID METHOD OF TOTAL LIPID EXTRACTION AND PURIFICATION
Bligh, E. G., & Dyer, W. J. (1959) · Canadian Journal of Biochemistry and Physiology · doi:10.1139/o59-099 · Cited by 54,751 · see citing works
Microdetermination of Phosphorus
Chen, P. S., Toribara, T. Y., & Warner, H. R. (1956) · Analytical Chemistry · doi:10.1021/ac60119a033 · Cited by 7,200 · see citing works
Membrane lipids: where they are and how they behave
van Meer, G., Voelker, D. R., & Feigenson, G. W. (2008) · Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology · doi:10.1038/nrm2330 · Cited by 7,157 · see citing works
Computer visualization of three-dimensional image data using IMOD.
Kremer, J. R., Mastronarde, D., & Mcintosh, J. (1996) · Journal of Structural Biology · doi:10.1006/jsbi.1996.0013 · Cited by 5,770 · see citing works
Understanding the diversity of membrane lipid composition
原山, 武., & Riezman, H. (2018) · Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology · doi:10.1038/nrm.2017.138 · Cited by 2,066 · see citing works
Molecular Biology and Pathogenicity of Mycoplasmas
Razin, S., Yogev, D., & Naot, Y. (1998) · Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews · doi:10.1128/mmbr.62.4.1094-1156.1998 · Cited by 1,930 · see citing works
Design and synthesis of a minimal bacterial genome
Hutchison, C. A., Chuang, R.-Y., Noskov, V. N., Assad-Garcia, N., Deerinck, T. J., Ellisman, M. H., Gill, J., Kannan, K., Karas, B. J., Ma, L., et al. (2016) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aad6253 · Cited by 1,500 · cited 2× · see citing works
“0, was engineered from Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri strain GM12 by systematically removing genes from M. mycoides to achieve an organism where every remaining gene is essential or quasi-essential 20 .”
Global analysis of the yeast lipidome by quantitative shotgun mass spectrometry
Ejsing, C. S., Sampaio, J. L., Surendranath, V., Duchoslav, E., Ekroos, K., Klemm, R. W., Simons, K., & Shevchenko, A. (2009) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0811700106 · Cited by 1,071 · see citing works
Parasassi, T., Stasió, G. D., Ravagnan, G., Rusch, R. M., & Gratton, E. (1991) · Biophysical Journal · doi:10.1016/s0006-3495(91)82041-0 · Cited by 906 · see citing works
What's so special about cholesterol?
Mouritsen, O. G., & Zuckermann, M. J. (2004) · Lipids · doi:10.1007/s11745-004-1336-x · Cited by 535 · see citing works
Membrane lipidome of an epithelial cell line
Sampaio, J. L., Gerl, M. J., Klose, C. D., Ejsing, C. S., Beug, H., Simons, K., & Shevchenko, A. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1019267108 · Cited by 500 · see citing works
Liebisch, G., Binder, M., Schifferer, R., Langmann, T., Schulz, B., & Schmitz, G. (2006) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids · doi:10.1016/j.bbalip.2005.12.007 · Cited by 448 · see citing works
Biophysical properties of lipids and dynamic membranes
Janmey, P. A., & Kinnunen, P. K. J. (2006) · Trends in Cell Biology · doi:10.1016/j.tcb.2006.08.009 · Cited by 431 · see citing works
Creating Bacterial Strains from Genomes That Have Been Cloned and Engineered in Yeast
Lartigue, C., Vashee, S., Algire, M. A., Chuang, R.-Y., Benders, G. A., Ma, L., Noskov, V. N., Denisova, E. A., Gibson, D. G., Assad-Garcia, N., et al. (2009) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1173759 · Cited by 332 · see citing works
Chiral Selective Transmembrane Transport of Amino Acids through Artificial Channels
Chen, L., Si, W., Zhang, L., Tang, G., Li, Z., & Hou, J. (2013) · Journal of the American Chemical Society · doi:10.1021/ja312704e · Cited by 305 · see citing works
Flexibility of a Eukaryotic Lipidome – Insights from Yeast Lipidomics
Klose, C. D., Surma, M. A., Gerl, M. J., Meyenhofer, F., Shevchenko, A., & Simons, K. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035063 · Cited by 295 · see citing works
Levental, K. R., Malmberg, E., Symons, J. L., Fan, Y., Chapkin, R. S., Ernst, R., & Levental, I. (2020) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-020-15203-1 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Viscous control of cellular respiration by membrane lipid composition
Budin, I., de Rond, T., Chen, Y., Chan, L. J. G., Petzold, C. J., & Keasling, J. D. (2018) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aat7925 · Cited by 220 · see citing works
Essential metabolism for a minimal cell
Breuer, M., Earnest, E. E., Merryman, C., Wise, K. S., Sun, L., Lynott, M. R., Hutchison, C. A., Smith, H. O., Lapek, J. D., Gonzalez, D. J., et al. (2019) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.36842 · Cited by 190 · cited 1× · see citing works
“As such,JCVI-Syn3A is genomically an even simpler model system than M. mycoides , while still possessing all of the previously described characteristics of M. mycoides that make it a valuable model membrane system 44 .”
Steinkühler, J., Sezgin, E., Urbančič, I., Eggeling, C., & Dimova, R. (2019) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-019-0583-3 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Fundamental behaviors emerge from simulations of a living minimal cell
Thornburg, Z. R., Bianchi, D. M., Brier, T. A., Gilbert, B. R., Earnest, E. E., Melo, M. C. R., Safronova, N., Sáenz, J. P., Cook, A. T., Wise, K. S., et al. (2022) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2021.12.025 · Cited by 165 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In this regard, development of a de fi ned growth medium will be essential in the continued development of myco-plasmas as minimal model membrane systems 33 .”
Self-citationRottem, S., Yashouv, J., Neʼeman, Z., & Razin, S. (1973) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes · doi:10.1016/0005-2736(73)90158-2 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Koga, Y., Kyuragi, T., Nishihara, M., & Sone, N. (1998) · Journal of Molecular Evolution · doi:10.1007/pl00006283 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Manni, M. M., Tiberti, M. L., Pagnotta, S., Barelli, H., Gautier, R., & Antonny, B. (2018) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.34394 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Mini Review: Bacterial Membrane Composition and Its Modulation in Response to Stress
Willdigg, J. R., & Helmann, J. D. (2021) · Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences · doi:10.3389/fmolb.2021.634438 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Isoprenoid biosynthesis in Archaea – Biochemical and evolutionary implications
Matsumi, R., Atomi, H., Driessen, A. J. M., & John van der, O. O. S. T. (2010) · Research in Microbiology · doi:10.1016/j.resmic.2010.10.003 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Genetic requirements for cell division in a genomically minimal cell
Pelletier, J. F., Sun, L., Wise, K. S., Assad-Garcia, N., Karas, B. J., Deerinck, T. J., Ellisman, M. H., Mershin, A., Gershenfeld, N., Chuang, R.-Y., et al. (2021) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.008 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Koga, Y., Kyuragi, T., Nishihara, M., & Sone, N. (1998) · Journal of Molecular Evolution · doi:10.1007/pl00006419 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Leftin, A., Molugu, T. R., Job, C., Beyer, K., & Brown, M. F. (2014) · Biophysical Journal · doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2014.07.044 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
van Wolferen, M., Pulschen, A. A., Baum, B., Gribaldo, S., & Albers, S. (2022) · Nature Microbiology · doi:10.1038/s41564-022-01215-8 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Low membrane fluidity triggers lipid phase separation and protein segregation in living bacteria
Gohrbandt, M., Lipski, A., Grimshaw, J. W., Buttress, J. A., Baig, Z., Herkenhoff-Hesselmann, B., Walter, S., Kurre, R., Deckers‐Hebestreit, G., & Strahl, H. (2022) · The EMBO Journal · doi:10.15252/embj.2021109800 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Villanueva, L., von Meijenfeldt, F. A. B., Westbye, A. B., Yadav, S., Hopmans, E. C., Dutilh, B. E., & Damsté, J. S. S. (2020) · The ISME Journal · doi:10.1038/s41396-020-00772-2 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Early Evolution of Membrane Lipids: How did the Lipid Divide Occur?
Koga, Y. (2011) · Journal of Molecular Evolution · doi:10.1007/s00239-011-9428-5 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
A retrospective: Use of Escherichia coli as a vehicle to study phospholipid synthesis and function
Dowhan, W. (2012) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids · doi:10.1016/j.bbalip.2012.08.007 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Stability of pressure-extruded liposomes made from archaeobacterial ether lipids
Choquet, C. G., Patel, G. B., Sprott, G. D., & Beveridge, T. J. (1994) · Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology · doi:10.1007/bf00902745 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Chwastek, G., Surma, M. A., Rizk, S., Grosser, D., Lavrynenko, O., Rucińska, M., Jambor, H. K., & Sáenz, J. (2020) · Cell Reports · doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108165 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Membrane lipids of mycoplasmas
Rottem, S. (1980) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes · doi:10.1016/0005-2736(80)90585-4 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
An Estimate of the Minimum Amount of Unsaturated Fatty Acid Required for Growth of Escherichia coli
Cronan, J. E., & Gelmann, E. P. (1973) · Journal of Biological Chemistry · doi:10.1016/s0021-9258(19)44280-4 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Salzberg, L. I., & Helmann, J. D. (2008) · Journal of Bacteriology · doi:10.1128/jb.00720-08 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Converting Escherichia coli into an archaebacterium with a hybrid heterochiral membrane
Caforio, A., Siliakus, M., Exterkate, M., Jain, S., Jumde, V. R., Andringa, R. L. H., Kengen, S., Minnaard, A., Driessen, A., & van der Oost, J. (2018) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · doi:10.1073/pnas.1721604115 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Chiral Recognition of <scp>l</scp>-Amino Acids on Liposomes Prepared with <scp>l</scp>-Phospholipid
Ishigami, T., Suga, K., & Umakoshi, H. (2015) · ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces · doi:10.1021/acsami.5b07198 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Homeocurvature adaptation of phospholipids to pressure in deep-sea invertebrates
Winnikoff, J. R., Milshteyn, D., Urbano, S., Pedraza-Joya, M. A., Armando, A. M., Quehenberger, O., Sodt, A. J., Gillilan, R. E., Dennis, E. A., Lyman, E. R., et al. (2024) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.adm7607 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Rottem, S., & MARKOWITZ, O. (1979) · Biochemistry · doi:10.1021/bi00581a002 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Lipid saturation controls nuclear envelope function
Romanauska, A., & Köhler, A. (2023) · Nature Cell Biology · doi:10.1038/s41556-023-01207-8 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Archaeal ancestors of eukaryotes: not so elusive any more
Koonin, E. V. (2015) · BMC Biology · doi:10.1186/s12915-015-0194-5 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Proliferation of Listeria monocytogenes L-form cells by formation of internal and external vesicles
Studer, P., Staubli, T., Wieser, N., Wolf, P., Schuppler, M., & Loessner, M. (2016) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms13631 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Molecular genetic approaches to defining lipid function
Dowhan, W. (2008) · Journal of Lipid Research · doi:10.1194/jlr.r800041-jlr200 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
The Phospholipid Profile of Mycoplasmas
Kornspan, J. D., & Rottem, S. (2012) · Journal of Lipids · doi:10.1155/2012/640762 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Distribution of cholesterol in asymmetric membranes driven by composition and differential stress
Varma, M., & Deserno, M. (2022) · Biophysical Journal · doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2022.07.032 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Hadadi, N., Pandey, V., Chiappino-Pepe, A., Morales, M., Gallart‐Ayala, H., Mehl, F., Ivanišević, J., Sentchilo, V., & van der Meer, J. R. (2020) · npj Systems Biology and Applications · doi:10.1038/s41540-019-0121-4 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Bioactive Ether Lipids: Primordial Modulators of Cellular Signaling
Rangholia, N., Leisner, T. M., & Holly, S. P. (2021) · Metabolites · doi:10.3390/metabo11010041 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
The cell membrane of Mycoplasma penetrans: lipid composition and phospholipase A1 activity
Salman, M., & Rottem, S. (1995) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes · doi:10.1016/0005-2736(95)80026-c · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Sojo, V. (2019) · BioEssays · doi:10.1002/bies.201800251 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Molecular genetic and biochemical approaches for defining lipid-dependent membrane protein folding
Dowhan, W., & Bogdanov, M. V. (2011) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes · doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2011.09.013 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Probing the Role of Chirality in Phospholipid Membranes
Martin, H. S., Podolsky, K. A., & Devaraj, N. K. (2021) · ChemBioChem · doi:10.1002/cbic.202100232 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Acholeplasma florum, a New Species Isolated from Plants
McCoy, R. E., Basham, H. G., Tully, J. G., Rose, D. L., Carle, P., & Bové, J. M. (1984) · International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology · doi:10.1099/00207713-34-1-11 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Replication of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in Broth Culture
Low, I. E., & Eaton, M. D. (1965) · Journal of Bacteriology · doi:10.1128/jb.89.3.725-728.1965 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Gilbert, B. R., Thornburg, Z. R., Lam, V., Rashid, F.-Z. M., Glass, J. I., Villa, E., Dame, R. T., & Luthey-Schulten, Z. (2021) · Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences · doi:10.3389/fmolb.2021.644133 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Model-driven design allows growth of Mycoplasma pneumoniae on serum-free media
Gaspari, E., Malachowski, A., Garcia-Morales, L., Burgos, R., Serrano, L., Martins dos Santos, V. A. P., & Suarez-Diez, M. (2020) · npj Systems Biology and Applications · doi:10.1038/s41540-020-00153-7 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Incorporation and modification of exogenous phosphatidylcholines by mycoplasmas
Rottem, S., Adar, L., GROSS, Z., Neʼeman, Z., & Davis, P. J. (1986) · Journal of Bacteriology · doi:10.1128/jb.167.1.299-304.1986 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Rottem, S., & Kahane, I. (1993) · Sub-cellular biochemistry/Subcellular biochemistry · doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-2924-8 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
The role of cholesterol in Mycoplasma membranes
Dahl, J. (1993) · Subcellular Biochemistry · doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-2924-8_5 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Modification of the Membrane Composition of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri by the Growth Medium
Archer, D. B. (1975) · Journal of General Microbiology · doi:10.1099/00221287-88-2-329 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Sterols in Mycoplasma Membranes
Razin, S. (1982) · Current topics in membranes and transport · doi:10.1016/s0070-2161(08)60311-1 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Racemic Phospholipids for Origin of Life Studies
Altamura, E., Comte, A., D’Onofrio, A., Roussillon, C., Fayolle, D., Buchet, R., Mavelli, F., Stano, P., Fiore, M., & Strazewski, P. (2020) · Symmetry · doi:10.3390/sym12071108 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Toward the Complete Functional Characterization of a Minimal Bacterial Proteome
Bianchi, D. M., Pelletier, J. F., Hutchison, C. A., Glass, J. I., & Luthey-Schulten, Z. (2022) · The Journal of Physical Chemistry B · doi:10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c04188 · Cited by 22 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Alternatively, it could also indicate that, whilenot essentialitself, itisa secondary “ moonlighting ” activity of an enzyme with an essential activity 46 .”
Cholesterol and Phospholipid Uptake by Mycoplasmas
Razin, S., Efrati, H., Kutner, S., & Rottem, S. (1982) · Clinical Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1093/clinids/4.supplement_1.s85 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Functional diversity of isoprenoid lipids in Methylobacterium extorquens PA1
Rizk, S., Henke, P., Santana‐Molina, C., Martens, G., Gnädig, M., Nguyen, N. A., Devos, D. P., Neumann‐Schaal, M., & Sáenz, J. (2021) · Molecular Microbiology · doi:10.1111/mmi.14794 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
THE SYNTHESIS OF POLAR LIPIDS BY MYCOPLASMA
Plackett, P. (1967) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1967.tb27655.x · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Integrative characterization of the near‐minimal bacterium Mesoplasma florum
Matteau, D., Lachance, J., Grenier, F., Gauthier, S., Daubenspeck, J. M., Dybvig, K., Garneau, D., Knight, T. F., Jacques, P., & Rodrigue, S. (2020) · Molecular Systems Biology · doi:10.15252/msb.20209844 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Boudreaux, D. P., Freese, E., Eisenstadt, E., & Iijima, T. (2005) · European Journal of Biochemistry · doi:10.1111/j.1432-1033.1981.tb06214.x · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Cracking the membrane lipid code
Melero, A., & Jiménez‐Rojo, N. (2023) · Current Opinion in Cell Biology · doi:10.1016/j.ceb.2023.102203 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Uptake of fatty acids by Mycoplasma capricolum
Dahl, J. (1988) · Journal of Bacteriology · doi:10.1128/jb.170.5.2022-2026.1988 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Lipid interconversions in aging Mycoplasma capricolum cultures
GROSS, Z., & Rottem, S. (1986) · Journal of Bacteriology · doi:10.1128/jb.167.3.986-991.1986 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Physical Studies of Lipid Organization and Dynamics in Mycoplasma Membranes
McElhaney, R. N. (1993) · Sub-cellular biochemistry/Subcellular biochemistry · doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-2924-8_3 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Safronova, N., Junghans, L., & Sáenz, J. (2024) · Cell Reports · doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114435 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationSurvival of feline mycoplasmas in urine
Brown, M. B., Stoll, M. L., Maxwell, J., & Senior, D. F. (1991) · Journal of Clinical Microbiology · doi:10.1128/jcm.29.5.1078-1080.1991 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Mycoplasma Membrane Lipids Chemical Composition and Transbilayer Distribution
Bittman, R. (1993) · Sub-cellular biochemistry/Subcellular biochemistry · doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-2924-8_2 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Rapid photometric assay of growth of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri
Meur, S. K., Sikdar, A., Srivastava, N., & Srivastava, S. (1989) · Journal of Applied Bacteriology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2672.1989.tb02482.x · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Characterization of phospholipase A2 of mycoplasma species
Bhandari, S., & Pj, A. (1989) · Folia Microbiologica · doi:10.1007/bf02814471 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Fritz, B. A., Thomas, C. B., Ess, P. J. V., & Yuill, T. M. (1991) · Avian Diseases · doi:10.2307/1591225 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Varying the position of phospholipid acyl chain unsaturation modulates hopanoid and sterol ordering
Nguyen, H. N. A., Sharp, L., Lyman, E. R., & Sáenz, J. (2024) · Biophysical Journal · doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2024.06.002 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Sakai, A., Deich, C., Nelissen, F. H. T., Jonker, A. J., BITTENCOURT, D. M. D. C., Kempes, C. P., Wise, K. S., Heus, H. A., Huck, W. T. S., Adamala, K. P., et al. (2022) · Synthetic Biology · doi:10.1093/synbio/ysac008 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Genetic requirements for cell division in a genomically minimal cell
Pelletier, J. F., Sun, L., Wise, K. S., Assad-Garcia, N., Karas, B. J., Deerinck, T. J., Ellisman, M. H., Mershin, A., Gershenfeld, N., Chuang, R.-Y., et al. (2020) · bioRxiv / Cell · doi:10.1101/2020.10.07.326892
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Bringing the genetically minimal cell to life on a computer in 4D
Thornburg, Z. R., Maytin, A., Kwon, J., Brier, T. A., Gilbert, B. R., Fu, E., Gao, Y.-L., Quenneville, J., Wu, T., Li, H., et al. (2026) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2026.02.009 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Asis, A. C., Asaro, A., & D’Angelo, G. (2025) · Trends in Cell Biology · doi:10.1016/j.tcb.2024.12.002 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Wagner, T. M., Torres-Puig, S., Yimthin, T., Irobalieva, R. N., Heller, M., Kaessmeyer, S., Démoulins, T., & Jores, J. (2025) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-025-08099-4 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Safronova, N., Junghans, L., & Sáenz, J. (2024) · Cell Reports · doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114435 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationWilson, K. J., Nguyen, H. Q., Gervay‐Hague, J., & Keller, S. L. (2024) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2401241121 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
A lipidomics roadmap: from basic research to societal challenges
Fedorova, M., Bendt, A. K., Bertrand‐Michel, J., Fiehn, O., Godzień, J., Goracci, L., Gruber, F., Guan, X. L., Han, X., Holčapek, M., et al. (2026) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73797-4 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Mirror Life: Bridging Chirality, Ethics, and the Foundations of Life Creation
Li, Y., Moradialvand, M., Asbridge, L., FRAZIER, K. B., Tay, F. R., & Makvandi, P. (2025) · Advanced Materials · doi:10.1002/adma.202510791 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
The secret life of RNA and lipids
Czerniak, T., & Sáenz, J. (2025) · RNA Biology · doi:10.1080/15476286.2025.2526903 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Synthetic cells by the numbers
Sokolik, C. G., Bar-Dolev, M., Milo, R., Adamala, K. P., & Levy, M. (2025) · iScience · doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.113849 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Berlureau, J., Anger, R., Beaulieu, E., Gourgues, G., Bataille, L., Jaubert, J., Lartigue, C., Sirand‐Pugnet, P., & Arfi, Y. (2026) · PLoS Pathogens · doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1014043 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Ten questions on membrane biophysics
Pabst, G., Vargas, C., & Keller, S. (2026) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes · doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2026.184531 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Ye, T., Sun, Y., Chai, Y., Duma, L., & Rossez, Y. (2025) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids · doi:10.1016/j.bbalip.2025.159630 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Hägg, V., Levental, I., Kaptan, S., & Vattulainen, I. (2026) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes · doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2026.184535 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Seelig, A. (2025) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes · doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2025.184483 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Coenradij, J., Bailoni, E., Lupacchini, M., Groenhof, W. F., Venekamp, M., Slotboom, D. J., Driessen, A. J. M., Exterkate, M., & Poolman, B. (2026) · ACS Synthetic Biology · doi:10.1021/acssynbio.5c00973 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Schrage, P. R., Afonina, U., Wörtz, J., Marchfelder, A., Martens, K. J. A., Sáenz, J., & Endesfelder, U. (2026) · microLife · doi:10.1093/femsml/uqag014 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Sun, S., Cao, H., Chandran, K., Cheng, S., Wang, X., & Li, Z. (2026) · Bioresource Technology · doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2026.135182 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Safronova, N., Junghans, L., Oertel, J., Fahmy, K., & Sáenz, J. (2024) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2024.10.04.616688 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationUnraveling the Transcriptional Landscape within a Minimized Bacterium via Comparative AnalysisPreprint
Brier, T. A., Cournoyer, J. E., Gilbert, B. R., Glass, S. A., Gao, Y.-L., Yu, Y., Thornburg, Z. R., Goglin, K. C., John, G., Mamaghani, T., et al. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.10.23.681674 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Safronova, N., Junghans, L., & Sáenz, J. (2023) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2023.11.10.566608
Self-citationWilson, K. J., Nguyen, H. Q., Gervay‐Hague, J., & Keller, S. L. (2024) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2024.02.02.578692
Schrage, P. R., Afonina, U., Wörtz, J., Marchfelder, A., Martens, K. J. A., Sáenz, J., & Endesfelder, U. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.02.24.639823
Do model membranes still matter?
Gbadamosi, O., & Marquardt, D. (2025) · Advances in biomembranes and lipid self-assembly · doi:10.1016/bs.abl.2025.04.001
Nothing can replace polyunsaturated lipids
Rodriguez-Gallardo, S., & 原山, 武. (2025) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.108249
Exploring lipid diversity and minimalism to define membrane requirements for synthetic cells
Gan, S., Scarpelli, V., & Exterkate, M. (2025) · FEBS Letters · doi:10.1002/1873-3468.70131 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Evo-Inspired Engineering of Radical Phenotypes and Emergent Traits
Babonis, L. S., Hahn, D. A., Liu, A. P., & Widhalm, J. R. (2025) · Integrative and Comparative Biology · doi:10.1093/icb/icaf107
A Robust Method for On-Chip Production and Manipulation of Lipid Vesicles by Inverted EmulsionPreprint
Yandrapalli, N., Gonzalez, D., Leng, W., Alsayyah, C., Ernst, R., & Tang, T. ‐. D. (2025) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.5392350
Oertel, J., Safronova, N., Sáenz, J., & Fahmy, K. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.09.12.675810
Self-citationSun, S., Yu, Q., Wang, X., Lu, D., Cao, H., Cheng, S., & Li, Z. (2025) · Biomass and Bioenergy · doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2025.108587
De novo chemoenzymatic construction of lipid membranes
Khanal, S., Harjung, A., & Fracassi, A. (2026) · Methods in enzymology on CD-ROM/Methods in enzymology · doi:10.1016/bs.mie.2026.01.013
A robust method for on-chip production and manipulation of lipid vesicles by inverted emulsion
Yandrapalli, N., Gonzales, D. T., Leng, W., Alsayyah, C., Abdukarimov, N., Ernst, R., & Tang, T. ‐. D. (2026) · Cell Reports Methods · doi:10.1016/j.crmeth.2026.101326
A cationic single-chain bolalipid forms stable vesicles with distinct interfacial behavior
Gahtori, P., Varghaei, H., Hazra, B., Jankovic, C. L., Strobl, J., Kaur, H., Khamis, S., West, F. G., Gibbs, J. M., & Mansy, S. S. (2026) · Biophysical Journal · doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2026.03.044
Collective lipid dynamics in biomembranes
Brown, M. F. (2026) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes · doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2026.184553
Beyond traditional PFAS: Potent neurotoxicity of 6:2 Cl-PFESA through lipidomic dysregulation
Lin, R.-X., Ding, Y.-Y., Cao, S.-X., Qing-yuan, D., Luo, X., Shi, Y.-L., Duan, W.-J., Li, Y.-F., Sun, W., He, R.-R., et al. (2026) · Emerging contaminants · doi:10.1016/j.emcon.2026.100712
Bogdanov, M. V., Dowhan, W., Mileykovskaya, E., Vitrac, H., & Sawasato, K. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-43676-0_36-2
Hadal trench microbiomes as models of extreme adaptation and ecosystem function
Barcan, A. S., Barcan, R. A., He, L., & Wang, Y. (2026) · Communications Earth & Environment · doi:10.1038/s43247-026-03922-0
Mushegian, A. R., Yamamoto, P. K., Torikai, N., & Arakawa, K. (2026) · mSphere · doi:10.1128/msphere.00077-26
Gan, M., Chen, P., Zeng, R., Wang, F., & Zhao, Y. (2026) · Toxins · doi:10.3390/toxins18090382
Membrane composition and thermodynamic identity as boundaries of life for synthetic cell research
Presutti, C., & Poolman, B. (2026) · FEBS Letters · doi:10.1002/1873-3468.70476
Visualizing Mycoplasma with Nanometer Resolution without Compromising Viability
Kumar, A., Perry, N., Paul, A., Özdoğan, M., Joseph, J., Ringnalda, J., Murkute, P., & Timp, G. L. (2026) · ACS Nano · doi:10.1021/acsnano.6c08047
Why cells use many lipids when few will do
Sáenz, J. (2026) · Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology · doi:10.1038/s41580-026-01041-4
- Authors
- Justice, I., Kiesel, P., Safronova, N., von Appen, A., & Saenz, J. P.
- Affiliations
- Center for Molecular Bioengineering (DE)
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (DE)
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-11-08
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 9679-9679
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11549477
- OpenAlex
- W4404164400
- Cited by
- 41
- References
- 83
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 5.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (03Z22EN12)
- Volkswagen Foundation (93090)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Lipid metabolism and biosynthesis
- Keywords
- minimal cell, lipidome, cell membrane composition, Mycoplasma mycoides, phospholipids, lipid head groups, heterochirality, archaea, origin of life
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
