Question

If somehow the lipid bilayer of a cell was turned inside out, would it still function correctly? What aspects might
be affected?

Answer 1

The plasma membrane is composed of two lipid bilayers, the outer leaflet and the inner leaflet. Both of them are made up of different phospholipids and proteins. The most important difference between the two leaflets is that outer leaflet is more permeable to molecules as compared to the inner leaflet.

So if the plasma membrane is turned inside out, it will not be able to function properly. The inner leaflet will be on the outer side now. It is less permeable to the molecules and therefore, now less number of molecules will be able to enter and exit from the plasma membrane. This will disturb the balance of molecules on both the sides of the membrane and when the molecules will be required to enter and exit, they will fail to do so.

In short, the cell will not be able to survive because it will not be able to carry out its metabolic activities any longer.

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