---
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: hybrid
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '21748'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Cells are defined by lipid membranes that differ in their structure across
    the tree of life. While the membranes of most bacteria and eukaryotes consist
    of single-headed bilayer lipids, the membranes of archaea are composed of mixtures
    of single-headed bilayer lipids and double-headed bolalipids. Archaeal bolalipids
    can adopt straight or u-shaped conformations, enabling them—together with bilayer
    lipids—to control whether membranes form bilayer or monolayer structures. Yet,
    the physical principles governing archaeal membranes remain largely unexplored,
    especially how membrane structure couples to externally imposed curvature during
    membrane remodeling. Here, we perform coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations
    of toroidal vesicles to systematically probe the effects of all relevant combinations
    of mean and Gaussian curvatures on shape stability and lipid organization. We
    find that soft bilayer membranes can sustain all curvatures induced, whereas rigid
    bolalipid monolayer membranes either transition to different vesicle shapes or
    rupture. Bilayer-mimicking u-shaped bolalipids and bilayer lipids are spatially
    accumulated in regions of high mean membrane curvature independent of Gaussian
    curvature. Our work identifies curvature–composition coupling as a physical signature
    of archaeal membrane remodeling.
acknowledgement: F.F. acknowledges the financial support from the NOMIS foundation.
  M.A. and A.Š. acknowledge the funding from the Volkswagen Foundation (Grant No.
  Az 96727). A.Š. acknowledges the funding from ERC Starting Grant “NEPA” (Grant No.
  802960) and the Vallee Scholarship.
article_number: '144902'
article_processing_charge: Yes (in subscription journal)
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Felix F
  full_name: Frey, Felix F
  id: a0270b37-8f1a-11ec-95c7-8e710c59a4f3
  last_name: Frey
  orcid: 0000-0001-8501-6017
- first_name: Miguel
  full_name: Santana de Freitas Amaral, Miguel
  id: 4f2d02dd-47a9-11ec-ad10-82820ed3f501
  last_name: Santana de Freitas Amaral
- first_name: Anđela
  full_name: Šarić, Anđela
  id: bf63d406-f056-11eb-b41d-f263a6566d8b
  last_name: Šarić
  orcid: 0000-0002-7854-2139
citation:
  ama: 'Frey FF, Santana de Freitas Amaral M, Šarić A. Cracking donuts and sorting
    lipids: Geometry controls archaeal membrane stability and lipid organization.
    <i>Journal of Chemical Physics</i>. 2026;164(14). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0325170">10.1063/5.0325170</a>'
  apa: 'Frey, F. F., Santana de Freitas Amaral, M., &#38; Šarić, A. (2026). Cracking
    donuts and sorting lipids: Geometry controls archaeal membrane stability and lipid
    organization. <i>Journal of Chemical Physics</i>. AIP Publishing. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0325170">https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0325170</a>'
  chicago: 'Frey, Felix F, Miguel Santana de Freitas Amaral, and Anđela Šarić. “Cracking
    Donuts and Sorting Lipids: Geometry Controls Archaeal Membrane Stability and Lipid
    Organization.” <i>Journal of Chemical Physics</i>. AIP Publishing, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0325170">https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0325170</a>.'
  ieee: 'F. F. Frey, M. Santana de Freitas Amaral, and A. Šarić, “Cracking donuts
    and sorting lipids: Geometry controls archaeal membrane stability and lipid organization,”
    <i>Journal of Chemical Physics</i>, vol. 164, no. 14. AIP Publishing, 2026.'
  ista: 'Frey FF, Santana de Freitas Amaral M, Šarić A. 2026. Cracking donuts and
    sorting lipids: Geometry controls archaeal membrane stability and lipid organization.
    Journal of Chemical Physics. 164(14), 144902.'
  mla: 'Frey, Felix F., et al. “Cracking Donuts and Sorting Lipids: Geometry Controls
    Archaeal Membrane Stability and Lipid Organization.” <i>Journal of Chemical Physics</i>,
    vol. 164, no. 14, 144902, AIP Publishing, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0325170">10.1063/5.0325170</a>.'
  short: F.F. Frey, M. Santana de Freitas Amaral, A. Šarić, Journal of Chemical Physics
    164 (2026).
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2026-04-19T22:07:45Z
date_published: 2026-04-14T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-05-05T12:40:41Z
day: '14'
ddc:
- '540'
department:
- _id: AnSa
doi: 10.1063/5.0325170
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2603.15170'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: 2e10c4f4531676e0771ef3730e4b63a9
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2026-05-05T12:35:24Z
  date_updated: 2026-05-05T12:35:24Z
  file_id: '21801'
  file_name: 2026_JourChemPhysics_Frey.pdf
  file_size: 8764791
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2026-05-05T12:35:24Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '       164'
issue: '14'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '04'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: eba2549b-77a9-11ec-83b8-a81e493eae4e
  call_identifier: H2020
  grant_number: '802960'
  name: 'Non-Equilibrium Protein Assembly: from Building Blocks to Biological Machines'
publication: Journal of Chemical Physics
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1089-7690
  issn:
  - ' 0021-9606'
publication_status: published
publisher: AIP Publishing
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
  record:
  - id: '21800'
    relation: research_data
    status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'Cracking donuts and sorting lipids: Geometry controls archaeal membrane stability
  and lipid organization'
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 164
year: '2026'
...