Lipids in Photosynthesis provides readers with a comprehensive view of the structure, function and genetics of lipids in plants, algae and bacteria, with special emphasis on the photosynthetic apparatus in thylakoid membranes. This volume includes the historical background of the field, as well as a full review of our current understanding of the structure and molecular organization of lipids and their role in the functions of photosynthetic membranes. The physical properties of membrane lipids in thylakoid membranes and their relationship to photosynthesis are also discussed. Other topics include the biosynthesis of glycerolipids and triglycerides; reconstitution of photosynthetic structures and activities with lipids; lipid-protein interactions in the import of proteins into chloroplasts; the development of thylakoid membranes as it relates to lipids; genetic engineering of the unsaturation of membrane glycerolipids, with a focus on the ability of the photosynthetic machinery to tolerate temperature stress; and the involvement of chloroplast lipids in the reactions of plants upon exposure to stress. This book is intended for a wide audience and should be of interest to advanced undergraduate and graduate students and to researchers active in the field, as well as to those scientists whose fields of specialization include the biochemistry, physiology, molecular biology, biophysics and biotechnology of membranes.

Lipids in Photosynthesis: Essential and Regulatory Functions, provides an essential summary of an exciting decade of research on relationships between lipids and photosynthesis. The book brings together extensively cross-referenced and peer-reviewed chapters by prominent researchers. The topics covered include the structure, molecular organization and biosynthesis of fatty acids, glycerolipids and nonglycerolipids in plants, algae, lichens, mosses, and cyanobacteria, as well as in chloroplasts and mitochondria. Several chapters deal with the manipulation of the extent of unsaturation of fatty acids and the effects of such manipulation on photosynthesis and responses to various forms of stress. The final chapters focus on lipid trafficking, signaling and advanced analytical techniques. Ten years ago, Siegenthaler and Murata edited "Lipids in Photosynthesis: Structure, Function and Genetics," which became a classic in the field. "Lipids in Photosynthesis: Essential and Regulatory Functions," belongs, with its predecessor, in every plant and microbiological researcher's bookcase.

This book summarizes recent advances in understanding the functions of plant and algal lipids in photosynthesis, in development and signaling, and in industrial applications. As readers will discover, biochemistry, enzymology and analytical chemistry, as well as gene knock-out studies have all contributed to our rapidly increasing understanding of the functions of lipids. In the past few decades, distinct physical and biochemical properties of specific lipid classes were revealed in plant and algal lipids and the functional aspects of lipids in modulating critical biological processes have been uncovered. These chapters from international authors across relevant research fields highlight the underlying evolutionary context of lipid function in photosynthetic unicellular and multicellular organisms. The book goes on to encompass what lipids can do for industrial applications at a time of fascination with plants and algae in carbon fixation and as sources for production of food, energy and novel chemicals. The developmental context is a part of the fresh and engaging perspective that is presented in this work which graduate students and scientists will find both illuminating and useful.

This book provides a selection of protocols to examine protein-lipid interactions, membrane and membrane protein structure, how membrane proteins affect lipids and how they are in turn affected by the lipid bilayer and lipid properties.

The purpose of this book is to introduce the readers on the perspective of the role that unsaturated fatty acids and complex lipids play on health and disease. Bioactive lipids can be modified affecting membrane composition, structure and fluidity in addition to changes in cell signaling associated to lipid-protein (membrane receptors) interactions, issues that are addressed by the authors. This book analyzes key topics involving bioactive lipids and their role in normal signaling and the mechanisms of disease. The book navigates from structural studies of oxidized and non-oxidized lipids to the reactions and cell signaling processes that bioactive lipids play in cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. The book contains the recent advances reported in the literature about lipidomics as well as the role that lipid-derived compounds exert on unfolded protein response and lipid metabolism and disease. This book represents a state of the art introduction to lipid metabolism from a biochemical to an in vivo overview being an useful tool for students and investigators. We hope the mechanistic observations on the role of bioactive lipids in health and disease serve a perspective to improve the existing treatments or propose new lipid-based pharmacology

Presents a multi-disciplinary perspective on the physics of life and the particular role played by lipids and the lipid-bilayer component of cell membranes. Emphasizes the physical properties of lipid membranes seen as soft and molecularly structured interfaces. By combining and synthesizing insights obtained from a variety of recent studies, an attempt is made to clarify what membrane structure is and how it can be quantitatively described. Shows how biological function mediated by membranes is controlled by lipid membrane structure and organization on length scales ranging from the size of the individual molecule, across molecular assemblies of proteins and lipid domains in the range of nanometers, to the size of whole cells. Applications of lipids in nano-technology and biomedicine are also described.