Question

In which environment would an organism benefit from having a high concentration of unsaturated lipids in the cell membrane?

	Extreme cold temperatures
		Extreme hot temperatures
		Dry conditions
		Wet conditions
		None of the above

Answer 1

Ans: First option is correct. The cell membrane will get benefit from having high concentration of unsaturated fatty acid in extrememly cold environments. Unsaturated fatty acids has less melting point and hence, have greater fluidity at a low temperature than saturated fatty acids. This fluidity is needed by the cell to work, for example, for signal transduction bacause a certain degree of movement is necessary for membrane proteins to interact. As saturated lipids are more rigid so, it is expected a slight increase in unsaturated lipids in cold environments to maintain the fluidity to regular working of the cell.

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