The role of unsaturated fatty acids in various environmental stresses
Biological membranes are the first barrier that separates cells from the environment and are a primary target for damage during environmental stress. Fatty acids are the major components of cell membranes. Unsaturated fatty acids play an important role in the biophysical characteristics of cell membranes. An increased degree of unsaturation increases fluidization of the membrane lipids. Recently, many researches proved that organisms usually maintain the fluidization of membrane by de-saturation of the fatty acids to adapt to the environmental changes. This paper reviewed the recent progresses on the roles of unsaturated fatty acids in various stresses, such as environmental temperature stress, salt stress, oxidative stress, acid and alkaline pH tolerance, drought tolerance, ethanol tolerance and aluminum stress.
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维普
