National Doctoral Programme in
Informational and Structural Biology

It is well appreciated that biological membranes have a laterally heterogeneous structure, which in large part is due to clustering of certain lipid species into laterally defined domains, or "raft" structures. In order to understand the biological significance and relevance of such lateral domains, it is imperative to have a clear understanding, on the molecular level, of their formation, stability and dynamics. The overall objective of our research is to better understand why domains form in membranes, what their biophysical properties are, and how lipid miscibility and structure are related to the propensity of domains to form. We are also interested in testing how alterations in domain properties modify functions believed to be dependent on lateral domains in biological membranes. To reach these goals we focus mainly on model membrane systems (complex bilayer membranes and giant unilamellar vesicles) but also perform research on whole cell systems. We develop and apply fluorimetric methods by which domain properties in membranes can be measured (mainly domain dynamics and domain stability). Especially we are interested in studying how glycosphingolipids and ceramides contribute to the formation of lateral domains, and whether sterols are important or irrelevant for such domains.