Abstract
In this study, carried out using computational methods, the organisation of the lipid/water interface of bilayers composed of galactolipids with both α-linolenoyl acyl chains is analysed and compared in three different lyotropic liquid-crystalline phases. These systems include the monogalactosyldiglyceride (MGDG) and digalactosyldiglyceride (DGDG) bilayers in the lamellar phase, the MGDG double bilayer during stalk phase formation and the inverse hexagonal MGDG phase. For each system, lipid-water and direct and water-mediated lipid-lipid interactions between the lipids of one bilayer leaflet and those of two apposing leaflets at the onset of new phase (stalk) formation, are identified. A network of interactions between DGDG molecules and its topological properties are derived and compared to those for the MGDG bilayer.
1 Introduction
Biological membranes (biomembranes) surround each cell and cell organelle. Their fundamental structural element is a lipid matrix that also plays the role of a selective permeability barrier. The biological functions that biomembranes can fulfil depend on the lipid composition of the matrix. The composition can vary within a wide range and determines the types and strength of intermolecular interactions and the molecular dynamics of lipids. Subsequently, it determines the physicochemical, biophysical, mechanical and other properties of the matrix and thus of the biomembrane. As the lipid matrix is an intricate system, experimental and computational studies are carried out on much simpler model membranes. Model membranes are hydrated lipid bilayers of a controlled lipid composition typical of the specific biomembrane. Lipid bilayers have three distinct regions, namely the bulk water region, the polar interface consisting of the lipid heads and water molecules, and the nonpolar bilayer core consisting of the lipid hydrocarbon chains. The interfacial region separates the other two regions and constitutes the first barrier preventing free movement of molecules across the bilayer. Moreover, many important processes occur there (). The interface thus plays an essential role in the functioning of the biomembrane.
Even in simple model membranes the lipid/water interface is structurally and dynamically complex. Structurally, because it consists of different types of polar, nonpolar and charged chemical groups and water molecules; dynamically, because the groups are in constant motion and the interfacial water molecules, even though predominantly bound to the lipid head groups (; ), undergo rotational and translational motion and exchange with bulk water fast (). Intermolecular interactions, dynamics and spatial organisation of the lipid head groups and water molecules at the interface are strongly interrelated, and this mutual dependence regulates the properties of the interface and thus of the membrane (; ; ).
The lipid composition of the matrix depends on the type of biomembrane within the cell and the function of the cell within the organism. The matrix of the mammalian plasma membrane consists primarily of glycerophospholipids (PL), i.e. phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS), and sphingomyelin (SM), with one saturated and the other mono-cis-unsaturated acyl chains (). PE together with phosphatidylglycerol are the main lipid representatives of the inner bacterial membranes (). The main constituents of thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts are glycolipids with the galactose moieties and the glycerol backbone as the head group, i.e. monogalactosyldiglyceride (MGDG) and digalactosyldiglyceride (DGDG), and both α-linolenoyl (di-18:3, cis) acyl chains (). Poly-unsaturation of galactolipid acyl chains is indispensable for proper functioning of thylakoid membranes as summarised in Bratek et al., 2019 () and citations therein. Lipopolysaccharides and lipid A are the main constituents of the outer membrane of Gram-negative (G–) bacteria ().
Due to the importance of the mammalian plasma membrane and the fact that they are relatively straightforward to handle, single or binary mixed PL bilayers as well as those also containing other natural membrane components have been extensively studied and much is known about their interfaces. The lipid/water interface of PL bilayers has been studied using experimental methods e.g. (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ), although more detailed information about its properties has been provided by computer modelling, e.g. (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ).
In contrast to phospholipids, glycolipids are relatively less frequently studied in spite of their widespread occurrence. Publications on the lipid/water interface of galactolipid bilayers either in the lamellar or non-lamellar phases are rather scarce. Experimental studies were carried out on bilayers consisting of galactolipids with 18:3, 18:2 18:1, 18:0 and 16:0 acyl chains, e.g., (; ; ; ; ) whereas computational studies were carried out on di-18:3 MGDG, e.g., (; ; ), 80% di-18:3 DGDG and 20% 18:3–16:0 DGDG () and di-16:0 glucolipid and di-16:0 galactolipid () bilayers. Also publications on the interface of lipopolysaccharide and lipid A bilayers are not numerous, e.g. (; ; ; ; ; ).
Whereas di-18:3-cis DGDG is a bilayer-forming lipid (), di-18:3-cis MGDG is not (); due to the cone shape under ambient conditions it forms an inverse hexagonal (HII) phase in water spontaneously (). In this study, the organisation of the lipid/water interface of di-18:3-cis MGDG bilayers in different lyotropic phases and of the di-18:3-cis DGDG lamellar bilayer are analysed and compared. In particular, lipid-water as well as direct and water-mediated lipid-lipid interactions are identified. These interactions take place within the same bilayer interface but also between lipids belonging to the interfaces of apposing leaflets when a new phase begins to form. The strength and branching of inter-lipid interactions at the DGDG bilayer interface are analysed using a formal network analysis approach. The analysis demonstrates that the interactions together with the lipid head groups form a dynamic but stable and extended network. The topological properties of the network are determined and compared with those of the MGDG bilayer ().
2 Systems and methods
2.1 Simulation systems
In this molecular modelling study, the lipid/water interface of galactolipid systems in three different lyotropic liquid-crystalline phases is investigated. The galactolipids used to build the systems are monogalactosyldiglyceride (MGDG) and digalactosyldiglyceride (DGDG), each with both α-linolenoyl (di-18:3, cis) acyl chains (Figure 1). The investigated phases are MGDG and DGDG lamellar bilayers (Figure 2); the MGDG double bilayer, which forms the stalk phase (Figure 2); and the MGDG inverse hexagonal phase (HII) ().
FIGURE 1
FIGURE 2

Final structures of the (A) MGDG and (B) DGDG bilayers after 320 and 1,050 ns of MD simulations, respectively. (C) Initial and (D) final (after ∼1,800 ns of MD simulation) structures of the double MGDG bilayer (W15). (E) The image of W15 in (D) was replicated along the x- and z-axis over periodic boundaries. The atoms are represented in standard colours, except for acyl chain carbon atoms, which are dark blue. The water is shown as a transparent blue surface. The hydrogen atoms are not shown.
The construction and conformational analysis of the computer model of the di-18:3-cis MGDG molecule (Figure 1) are described in Refs (
The MGDG bilayer was validated in Ref. (
A stalk is a crucial intermediate in the membrane fusion mechanism (
The construction of the MGDG HII phase, its MD simulation and validation were described in detail in Ref. (
2.2 Simulation parameters and conditions
Force field parameters for the α-linolenic chain, and the glycerol moiety of the galactolipids, were taken directly from the all-atom optimised potentials for liquid simulations (OPLS-AA) force field associated with the software package GROMACS 5.05 (
The head group of MGDG comprises a single β-D-galactose and the glycerol backbone to which the galactose is attached by an O-glycosidic bond called here β-1′-1″ linkage (cf. Figure 1). The head group of DGDG comprises two galactose moieties, α-D-galactose and β-D-galactose linked by an O-glycosidic bond called here α-1-6 linkage (cf. Figure 1), also attached to the glycerol backbone by the β-1′-1″ linkage. For the galactose moieties of MGDG and DGDG, OPLS-AA parameters for carbohydrates (
MD simulations of the lamellar galactolipid bilayers were carried out in the NPT ensemble, under a pressure of 1 atm and at a temperature of 295 K (22°C) using the software package GROMACS (
The linear constraint solver (LINCS) algorithm (
The W15 system was MD simulated at 295 K for 320 ns (film SF1, SI). Then, to speed up the process of the MGDG stalk structure formation, the following ∼1.4-µs simulation was carried out at 333 K (60°C) with the time step of 1.5 fs. After that, the temperature was gradually lowered to 295 K and after reaching this temperature, MD simulation was continued for 100 ns with a 2-fs time step. The temperature profile of this simulation is shown in Supplementary Figure S4. All other simulation parameters and conditions as well as the simulation programme were the same as in the case of the lamellar systems.
All trajectories analysed in this paper were recorded every 1 ps.
The MGDG HII phase was generated in a 3-µs MD simulation, also at 295 K (22°C) and the trajectory was recorded every 2 ps (
Visualisation of the results was done with the VMD 1.9.3 (
2.3 Network analysis
The methodology used to analyse the interaction network at the bilayer interface is described in detail in Ref. (
Network analysis was carried out using NetworkX (
3 Results
3.1 Systems equilibration and validation
Time profiles of the potential energy (Ep), the average surface area per lipid (AL) and the bilayer width (DRR) of the MGDG and DGDG bilayers are shown in Figure 3. The average AL was obtained by dividing the simulation box surface area by the number of lipids in one bilayer leaflet. The average DRR was defined and calculated as the distance between the average positions of the centres-of-mass of the single galactose rings (MGDG) or of the double galactose rings (DGDG), in the opposite bilayer leaflets, in a similar fashion to Ref. (
FIGURE 3

Equilibration of the lamellar MGDG and DGDG bilayers and the W15 system. Time profiles of the (A) MGDG and (B) DGDG potential energy (Ep); (C) MGDG and (D) DGDG average surface area per lipid (AL); (E) MGDG and (F) DGDG average bilayer width (DRR), during 320 and 1,050 ns, respectively, of MD simulations at 295 K. (A–F) The time (20 ns) when the T and p control methods were switched (cf. sec. 2.2) is marked with a green arrow; the red line shows the average value of a given parameter. Time profiles of Ep (G) for the whole ∼1,800-ns and (H) for the last 100-ns (when the system’s temperature was 295 K) of MD simulation of the W15 system.
TABLE 1
| System | Ep [105 kJ/mol] | AL [Å2] | DRR [Å] | DCC [Å] | Tilt [°] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MGDG | −5.488 ± 0.02 | 61.77 ± 0.50 | 41.60 ± 0.28 | 34.59 ± 0.25 | β: 32 |
| DGDG | −2.420 ± 0.01 | 65.84 ± 0.63 | 42.04 ± 0.33 | 33.39 ± 0.31 | α: 30 β: 36 |
| W15 | −8.340 ± 0.02 | 64.26 ± 0.72 | 40.39 ± 0.39 | 33.80 ± 0.40 | β: 42 |
Mean values of the simulated systems parameters.
Time average values of the potential energy (Ep), surface area per lipid (AL) and bilayer width (DRR, and DCC) (see text) as well as the preferred tilt angle (maximum of the ω angle probability distribution in Supplementary Figure S5) of the β and α rings for the MGDG, and DGDG, bilayers and the W15 system, MD, simulated at 295 K. The W15 system was cooled from 333 to 295 K and MD, simulated at this temperature for 100 ns (see Figure 3G); the average value of Ep was calculated for the whole W15 system and those for AL, DRR, and DCC, for its “flat” part (marked with a black frame in Figure 4A) over the last 60 ns. The errors are standard deviation estimates.
The equilibrated lamellar MGDG and DGDG bilayers are shown in Figures 2A,B, respectively.
The values for AL of 61.77 ± 0.50 Å2 and DRR of 41.60 ± 0.28 Å obtained in this study for the MGDG bilayer are very close to those obtained in Ref. (
The values for AL of 65.84 ± 0.63 Å2 and DRR of 42.04 ± 0.33 Å obtained in this study for the DGDG bilayer MD simulated for 1 µs can be compared with those published in the literature—for AL they range between 63 and 78 Å2 and for DRR between 41 and 44 Å. Most of the published values of AL and DRR were obtained from MD simulations, either coarse grained of 64 ± 1 Å2 and of 41 Å, respectively, for the di-16:0 DGDG bilayer (
The results of MD simulations show some dependence of the acyl chain unsaturation on the bilayer structural properties, although it should be remembered that the computer models of the DGDG molecule used in those studies had different resolutions, thus the structural parameters derived may somewhat differ from one another. Other differences in the results may stem from the differing acyl chain compositions of the bilayers, e.g. (
The above comparisons demonstrate that the DGDG bilayer generated in this MD simulation study is effective in reproducing the basic bilayer properties determined in previous studies. Furthermore, the entries in Supplementary Table S1 imply that the conformational states of the DGDG head group concur well with experimental, e.g. (
The initial and final structures of the W15 system are shown in Figures 2C,D. W15 is in the process of stalk phase formation (film Supplementary Video S1) and thus is not at equilibrium. Nevertheless, its energy profile (Figure 3G) was calculated for the whole MD simulation time of ∼1,800 nsas well as for the last 100 ns (Figure 3H), when the temperature, after lowering from 333 to 295 K, was stable at 295 K (cf. Methods). The average value of the whole system’s Ep, as well as the values of AL, DRR and DCC for its “flat” part (marked with a black frame in Figure 4A) calculated over the last 60 ns of MD simulation of the W15 systems equilibrated at 295 K, are given in Table 1.
FIGURE 4

Three regions of W15 and top view of the HII phase. (A) The concave region is not marked; the larger connect-15 region formed through the “inner” water layer (15 H2O/MGDG) is marked with a black frame and the smaller connect-30 region newly forming over the PBC through the “outer” water layer (30 H2O/MGDG) is marked with a red frame. The atoms are represented in standard colours, except for the acyl chain carbon atoms which are dark blue. The water is shown as a transparent blue surface. The hydrogen atoms are not shown. (B) Top view of the HII phase generated Ref. (
3.2 Lipid-water H-bonds
MGDG has four OH groups that are both donors and acceptors of hydrogen bonds (H-bond) and six O atoms that are only acceptors of H-bonds (Figure 1) can thus make numerous H-bonds with water molecules. The average numbers of particular types of the MGDG-water interactions are given in Table 2.
TABLE 2
| Bilayer | MGDG | DGDG |
|---|---|---|
| # H-bonds/head | 9.37 ± 0.10 | 12.83 ± 0.19 |
| # H-bonds/rings (H; O) | 6.34 ± 0.08 (2.54 ± 0.05; 3.81 ± 0.05) | 9.95 ± 0.17 (3.88 ± 0.08; 6.06 ± 0.12) |
| # H-bonds/α ring | – | 5.81 ± 0.12 |
| # H-bonds/β ring | – | 4.14 ± 0.10 |
| # H-bonds/gly | 3.02 ± 0.06 | 2.88 ± 0.06 |
| # H-bonded H2O/head | 7.14 ± 0.09 | 9.07 ± 0.15 |
| # WB/head | 1.70 ± 0.06 | 2.89 ± 0.15 |
| # ring-ring WB/head | 0.80 ± 0.04 | 1.81 ± 0.12 |
| #α ring-α ring WB/head | – | 0.59 ± 0.06 |
| #α ring-β ring WB/head | – | 0.82 ± 0.07 |
| #β ring-β ring WB/head | – | 0.40 ± 0.05 |
| # gly-gly WB/head | 0.26 ± 0.02 | 0.24 ± 0.03 |
| # gly-ring WB/head | 0.63 ± 0.04 | 0.84 ± 0.06 |
Number of lipid-water interactions in the MGDG and DGDG lamellar bilayers.
Average numbers of lipid-water H-bonds (# H-bonds); H-bonded water molecules (#H bonded H2O) and water bridges (# WB) per lipid head, rings and glycerol backbone (gly) and additionally per α and β rings of DGDG, at the interface of the MGDG, and DGDG, bilayers. In parenthesis are the numbers of interactions via H (H-bond donor) and O (H-bond acceptor) atoms of the ring moieties. The glycerol backbone includes the O1’ atom (cf. Figure 1).
DGDG has seven OH groups that are both donors and acceptors of H-bonds and eight O atoms that are only acceptors of H-bonds (Figure 1). Accordingly, the average numbers of DGDG-water interactions (Table 2) are greater than those of MGDG, although somewhat smaller than expected.
Water molecules bind preferentially to the MGDG and DGDG rings and are 50% more often H-bond donors than acceptors (Table 2). In the water-glycerol H-bonding, water is the only H-bond donor. The number of water-glycerol H-bonds is only slightly smaller in the DGDG than the MGDG bilayer (Table 2).
The smaller than expected number of H-bonds with water and H-bonded water molecules in the DGDG than the MGDG bilayer is to some extent compensated by the larger number of water bridges (WB) (
From Figures 2D, 4A it is apparent that the W15 system has two distinct regions—“region of full hydration” and “region of reduced hydration” (Figure 4A). The “full hydration region”, which is called concave is not marked in Figure 4A. The larger “reduced hydration” region forms as a result of the local cross-water connection of two inner leaflets of the double bilayer that were originally separated by the thinner “inner” water layer (15 H2O/MGDG). It is marked with a black frame in Figures 4A and is called connect-15. The smaller “reduced hydration” region is still forming over the PBC as a result of the local cross-water connection of two outer leaflets of the double bilayer that were originally separated by the thicker “outer” water layer (30 H2O/MGDG). It is marked with a red frame in Figures 4A and is called connect-30. The connections are more visible in Figure 2E.
The average number of each type of MGDG-water interaction in a specified region of the W15 system and in the MGDG HII channels is given in Table 3. The numbers of MGDG-water H-bonds and water bridges (horizontal) as well as H2O molecules H-bonded by MGDG in the concave region of W15 are very similar to those in the MGDG lamellar bilayer, but those in the connect regions, particularly in the connect-15, are smaller (Tables 2, 3). The numbers of H-bonds and H-bonded H2O molecules in the MGDG HII phase are smaller than those in the concave region, but are similar to those in the connect regions of W15 (Table 3).
TABLE 3
| System | #H2O-lipid H-bond/head | #H Bonded H2O/head | WB/head horizontal | WB/head vertical | WB/head total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MGDG bilayer | 9.37 ± 0.10 | 7.14 ± 0.09 | 1.70 ± 0.06 | – | – |
| W15; concave | 9.18 ± 0.18 | 6.99 ± 0.15 | 1.69 ± 0.10 | – | – |
| W15; connect-15 | 8.13 ± 0.14 | 5.51 ± 0.07 | 1.57 ± 0.09 | 0.72 ± 0.06 | 2.28 ± 0.11 |
| W15; connect-30 | 8.64 ± 0.23 | 6.25 ± 0.23 | 1.41 ± 0.16 | 0.56 ± 0.11 | 1.97 ± 0.20 |
| HII | 8.23 ± 0.04 | 6.01 ± 0.03 | 1.90 ± 0.03 | – | – |
Number of lipid-water interactions in the MGDG lamellar and non-lamellar systems.
Concave is the region of W15 that contains excess water (not marked in Figure 4A); connect-15, and connect-30 (cf. Main text) are regions of W15 that are marked with black and red frames, respectively, in Figure 4A. The inverse hexagonal MGDG, phase (HII) was generated in Ref. (
In the connect-15 and connect-30 regions, the horizontal and vertical WBs can be distinguished. The horizontal WBs are between lipids of the same bilayer leaflet (Figure 5A) and the vertical are between lipids of the apposing leaflets (Figure 5B). In both regions, the number of horizontal WBs is larger than that of the vertical ones but somewhat smaller than the number of them in the MGDG lamellar bilayer and the concave region. This could indicate that there is some competition between the horizontal and vertical WBs. Nevertheless, the total number of WBs (horizontal and vertical) in each connect region is larger than the number of those in the concave region and the lamellar bilayer. The number of water bridges (horizontal) in the MGDG HII phase is higher than in the MGDG bilayer and any W15 region (Table 3).
FIGURE 5

Examples of MGDG-MGDG H-bonds and water bridges at the interface of the W15 connect-15 region. (A) Horizontal (between lipids belonging to the same bilayer leaflet) interactions; (B) vertical (between lipids belonging to the apposing leaflets) interactions. The molecules are shown as sticks in standard colours (acyl chains are cut off). The dotted blue lines represent intermolecular interactions. In (A) the water molecule is an acceptor of two H-bonds, in (B) the water molecule is a donor of two H-bonds.
3.3 Lipid-lipid interactions
The MGDG and DGDG heads have both H-bond acceptor and donor groups. Therefore, they can be linked by direct inter-lipid H-bonds at the lipid/water interface, in addition to water bridges, which are water-mediated lipid-lipid interactions (Table 2, 3). The numbers of direct H-bonds in the MGDG and DGDG lamellar bilayers, the W15 system and its specified regions, as well as in the MGDG HII phase, are given in Table 4. The number of H-bond acceptor and donor groups of DGDG is 50% larger than that of MGDG; however, the number of DGDG-water H-bonds is only ∼37% greater, whereas the numbers of WBs and direct H-bonds are 70 and ∼130%, respectively, greater than those of MGDG (Tables 2, 4). This indicates that at the bilayer interface the head groups of DGDG interact preferentially with one another, rather than with water, whereas interactions between the MGDG head groups and water are relatively numerous.
TABLE 4
| System | # Head-head H-bonds/head | # Head-head WB/head |
|---|---|---|
| MGDG bilayer | 0.87 ± 0.04 | 1.70 ± 0.06 |
| #β ring-β ring/MGDG | 0.57 ± 0.03 | 0.80 ± 0.04 |
| DGDG bilayer | 1.97 ± 0.08 | 2.89 ± 0.15 |
| #α ring-α ring/DGDG | 0.46 ± 0.03 | 0.59 ± 0.06 |
| #α ring-β ring/DGDG | 0.32 ± 0.03 | 0.82 ± 0.07 |
| #β ring-β ring/DGDG | 0.69 ± 0.07 | 0.40 ± 0.05 |
| W15; concave | 0.94 ± 0.06 | 1.69 ± 0.10 |
| W15; connect-15 | H: 0.90 ± 0.05 | H: 1.57 ± 0.09 |
| V: 0.41 ± 0.04 | V: 0.72 ± 0.06 | |
| T: 1.31 ± 0.07 | T: 2.28 ± 0.11 | |
| W15; connect-30 | H: 0.81 ± 0.09 | H: 1.41 ± 0.16 |
| V: 0.31 ± 0.16 | V: 0.56 ± 0.11 | |
| T: 1.12 ± 0.12 | T: 1.97 ± 0.20 | |
| HII | 1.33 ± 0.02 | 1.90 ± 0.03 |
Number of lipid-lipid interactions.
Average numbers of direct lipid-lipid H-bonds (second column) in the MGDG, and DGDG, lamellar bilayers per head and per the α and β rings of DGDG; the concave, connect-15, and connect-30 regions of W15 (cf. Figure 4A) as well as in the inverse hexagonal MGDG, phase (HII). For comparison, the average numbers of WBs, from Table 2 and 3 are also given (third column). H, V and T stand for the horizontal, vertical and total direct H-bonds and WBs, respectively (see text).
To obtain a better insight, the numbers of ring-water and ring-ring interactions in the DGDG bilayer were calculated for the α and β galactose rings separately. The results given in Tables 2, 4 show that the number of intermolecular interactions of each DGDG ring is different.
In the connect regions of W15, the MGDG head groups form both horizontal and vertical inter-lipid H-bonds (Figure 5), as in the case of WBs. The average numbers of horizontal H-bonds in the three regions of W15 are similar to each other and also similar to the number of them in the MGDG lamellar bilayer. This implies that, in contrast to WBs, different H-bond donor and acceptor groups of MGDG are involved in formation of the horizontal and the vertical direct H-bonds.
The number of lipid-lipid H-bonds in the MGDG HII phase is higher than in the MGDG bilayer or any W15 region (Table 4), as is the number of WBs.
3.4 Orientation of the galactolipid head group
The orientation of the MGDG head group in the bilayer is determined here, as in Ref. (
The most probable (preferred) orientation, called here tilt, of the head group is angle ω, for which the ω distribution has the main maximum. The distributions of ω and tilts for MGDG in the bilayer and in the connect-15 region of W15 obtained in this study are shown in Supplementary Figure S5A, B and are given in Table 1, respectively. In the MGDG bilayer the ω distribution is smooth and the vector tilt is 32°. Both are similar to those in Ref. (
The tilt of the DGDG α ring in the bilayer was obtained from the distribution of angle ω between the α ring vector (C2″-O4 vector, Figure 1B) and the bilayer normal (Supplementary Figure S5C), and that of the DGDG β ring was obtained from the distribution of the ω angle between the β ring vector (C2″-O4’ vector, Figure 1B) and the bilayer normal (Supplementary Figure S5D); both tilts are given in Table 1. The tilt of the DGDG α ring of 30° is almost the same as that of the MGDG β ring of 32°. However, their ω distributions differ. In addition to the main maximum in the ω distribution of the α ring vector at 30°, there are smaller but clear maxima at ∼60°, ∼80° and the last one at ∼140°. These maxima indicate that the α ring may have three additional less populated but stable orientations.
The tilt of the DGDG β ring is 36°. Even though the tilts of the DGDG α and β ring vectors are similar, the rings belong to different planes (Supplementary Figure S6). The distribution of the angle between the planes of the α and β rings shown in Supplementary Figure S7 has two maxima. The higher, relatively narrow maximum is at 82° and the significantly lower one is at 162°. The angles are most likely determined by the preferred populations of the torsion angles of the α-1-6 and β-1′-1″ glycosidic linkages. On the basis of the results of Ref. (
3.5 Density profile of the terminal CH3 groups of galactolipid acyl chains
The density profiles of the terminal CH3 groups of the poly-cis-unsaturated α-linolenoyl acyl chains of MGDG and DGDG across the bilayer were calculated to estimate the probability of finding the groups in the interfacial region of each bilayer, and to compare this probability with the results of previous experimental, e.g. (
3.6 Network analysis of the DGDG bilayer
At the bilayer interface, the galactolipid head groups and interactions (H-bonds and water bridges) between them create a network of interactions. In Ref. (
TABLE 5
| Bilayer (# lipids in a leaflet) | MGDG* (8 × 8) | 4 MGDG* (16 × 16) | DGDG (10 × 10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| # H-bonds | 1.04 ± 0.08 | 1.03 ± 0.04 | 1.90 ± 0.06 |
| # water bridges | 1.74 ± 0.13 | 1.69 ± 0.06 | 3.11 ± 0.12 |
| # clusters | 1.52 ± 0.53 | 3.27 ± 1.09 | 1.01 ± 0.06 |
| size smallest | 39.05 ± 21.78 | 28.83 ± 56.23 | 99.30 ± 5.86 |
| size largest (%) | 63.25 ± 0.99 (98.8) | 252.80 ± 2.02 (98.7) | 99.99 ± 0.06 (100) |
| # network bridges | 5.12 ± 2.19 | 21.11 ± 4.44 | 0.21 ± 0.33 |
| node strength | 35.25 ± 2.03 | 34.86 ± 0.95 | 34.47 ± 1.09 |
| Edge lifetime [ps] | |||
| Direct H-bonds | 1.73 ± 0.006 | 1.73 ± 0.004 | 0.86 ± 0.003 |
| Water bridges | 1.44 ± 0.007 | 1.43 ± 0.005 | 0.80 ± 0.004 |
| Interaction energy [kcal/mol] | |||
| Direct H-bonds | −5.12 ± 2.75 | −5.12 ± 2.75 | −5.12 ± 2.75 |
| Water bridges | −14.23 ± 7.80 | −14.23 ± 7.80 | −14.23 ± 7.80 |
Mean values of the network parameters.
Average numbers (#) of lipid-lipid H-bonds and water bridges; average number of clusters (# clusters); average size of the smallest (size smallest) and largest (size largest) clusters (in parenthesis, % of the lipid molecules in one bilayer leaflet); average number of network bridges (# network bridges); average node strength; average lifetimes of inter-node edges (Edge lifetime) in networks via H-bonds (Direct H-bond) and via water bridges; average energy of the H-bond (Direct H-bond) and the water bridge interaction (Interaction energy) for the MGDG*, 4 MGDG* (
FIGURE 6

The networks of lipid interconnections at the interfaces of the DGDG bilayer at two time frames 1 ps apart. (A) The network is connected and (B) the connected network is broken into two clusters. The black rectangle depicts the basic simulation box. Nodes (centres-of-mass of the lipids) are presented as dots in the x,y-plane, and edges as lines connecting respective nodes. The largest cluster is in blue and a single-node cluster is in orange. To avoid problems with edges crossing PBC, 9 copies of each node are presented (strong colour tone for the cluster, soft colour tones for its 8 PBC copies); the edges are drawn in the basic simulation box and all its copies.
The values given in Table 5 are graphically presented in Supplementary Figures S9,S10. These figures also provide additional information. The distribution of the node degrees shown in Supplementary Figure S9A indicates that the most probable degree in the DGDG bilayer is 5. This means that two DGDG head groups are most often connected by five individual inter-lipid interactions, and the smallest number of such interactions is two. The results shown in Supplementary Figure S9C demonstrate that only clusters of sizes 1, 2, 98, 99 and 100 have non-zero probability of forming and the probability of forming a cluster of size 100 is at least two orders of magnitude larger than that of the remaining ones. Time profiles of the average number of clusters and the average sizes of the smallest and the largest clusters are shown in Supplementary Figure S10; the averages are over two networks, each in one bilayer leaflet. Supplementary Figure S10A reveals that in each bilayer leaflet the network is connected for most of the time. However, from time to time one of the connected networks breaks for a short while into two clusters and the average number of clusters is then 1.5. Only in one case does the network break into three clusters (of sizes 1, 1 and 98) and the average number of clusters is then 2 (Supplementary Figure S10A). The average size of the smallest cluster is either 100 or nearly 50 (Supplementary Figure S10B) and that of the largest is either 100 or nearly 100 (Supplementary Figure S10C). For most of the time, the sizes of the smallest and the largest clusters are 100. The time profile of the average node strength plotted in Supplementary Figure S10D only fluctuates around the average value, and this indicates that the average node strength is stable during the simulation time.
4 Discussion
4.1 MGDG and DGDG bilayers
An interesting result of this study is that the DGDG bilayer equilibrated after a much longer time than the MGDG bilayer. This effect was previously noticed by Kanduč et al. (
The interaction network in the DGDG bilayer is qualitatively similar to those in the MGDG bilayers (
Probably due to the greater AL (65.8 vs. 61.8 Å2), the lifetimes of network edges consisting of only H-bond interactions and of only water bridge interactions in the DGDG bilayer are about half the length of those in the MGDG bilayers (Table 5). However, because the numbers of individual inter-lipid interactions are about twice as great and the energies of the interactions are the same, the node strength in the DGDG and MGDG bilayers are similar.
In the DGDG bilayer, as in the MGDG bilayers (
Despite the fact that the network of interconnections at the DGDG bilayer interface is more stable, extended and branched than that at the MGDG bilayer interface, the large head group and cylindrical shape of the DGDG molecule prevent formation of non-bilayer phases, as is the case with the MGDG aggregates.
An apparent disproportion in the number of inter-lipid links at the bilayer interface between the DGDG and the MGDG bilayer (cf. section 3.3) can possibly be explained as follows. The tilt of the MGDG β galactose rings relative to the bilayer normal is 32° (Table 1), thus their polar groups are quite exposed to the water phase. In contrast, the DGDG β rings are screened from water by the α rings so they make fewer H-bonds with water than those of MGDG (Table 2). Due to smaller hydration, the polar groups of the DGDG β ring make fewer ring-ring WBs but more direct ring-ring H-bonds than those of the MGDG β ring and the DGDG α ring (Table 4). As a consequence of the hydration disparity of the DGDG α and β rings, the β-α WBs are more numerous and the β-α H-bonds are less numerous than those of the α-α rings (Tables 2, 4).
The tilt of the DGDG α galactose rings (O4-C2″ vector) is 30° and is practically the same as that of the MGDG β galactose rings, which is 32° (Table 1). However, the average numbers of ring-water H-bonds and ring-ring H-bonds and WBs made by the DGDG α ring are smaller than those made by the MGDG β ring (Tables 2, 4). This is because in addition to the α ring-water and α-α rings interactions, the α ring also interacts with the DGDG β ring. These interactions can be seen in the ω angle distribution in Supplementary Figure S5 as secondary maxima. They indicate that the DGDG α ring, on top of the preferred one, has three other less populated but stable orientations. Two of these orientations (∼60° and ∼80°) are possibly stabilised by its interactions with the β ring (particularly WBs) and one (∼140°) with the glycerol backbone (Tables 2, 4). The values obtained for the DGDG α ring orientation are only in partial agreement with conclusions derived on the basis of experimental data that “the polar head group of this lipid (DGDG) is oriented parallel to the plane of the bilayer” (
Previous experimental, e.g. (
4.2 W15 system
In the W15 system, two MGDG bilayers were initially placed parallel to each other and separated by two water layers, namely, the thinner “inner” water layer containing 6,750 H2O molecules (15 H2O/MGDG) and the thicker “outer” water layer containing 13,500 H2O molecules (30 H2O/MGDG) (Figure 2). In the course of MD simulation, the distance between the bilayers decreased in some places and increased in some others, indicating the onset of stalk structure formation (film Supplementary Video S1). The first vertical lipid-lipid contact across the “inner” water layer formed within the initial 1 ns of MD simulation at 295 K (Supplementary Figure S3). Local partial dehydration leading to formation of the connect-15 region can be seen in film SF1 (SI). In this dehydration process, each MGDG molecule loses on average approximately one H-bond with water and ∼1.5 H-bonded water molecules, but gains ∼0.6 WBs and ∼0.4 inter-lipid H-bonds (Table 3). Thus, interactions with water are replaced by lipid-lipid interaction. Water molecules move from the connect to the concave regions; this process is relatively fast as can be deduced from film Supplementary Video S1.
Hydration of MGDG molecules as well as the number of inter-lipid interactions in the W15 concave region are practically the same as in the MGDG bilayer. This might be because the W15 is in the process of stalk structure formation. The stalk structure involves lipid mixing between apposing leaflets (
4.3 HII phase
Details of the construction and MD simulation of the MGDG HII phase are described in Ref. (
4.4 Effect of acyl chains on the HII phase structure
Combined X-ray, neutron scattering and MD simulation studies indicate that the length and mono- and poly-unsaturation of PL acyl chains have an impact, among others, on the lipid surface area in PC, e.g. (
The results for the HII phase are in contrast with those for lamellar PL bilayers. The experimentally derived structural parameters such as hexagonal lattice constant (dhex) and radius of the water channel (r), as a function of the hydration level for mainly di-18:3 MGDG, mainly di-18:2 MGDG, di-18:1 DOPE and 16:0–18:1 POPE HII phases, either in the case of dhex or r, lie on one straight line, irrespectively of the degree of the acyl chains (Ref. (
5 Conclusion
The analyses presented in this paper revealed:
(1) In the interfacial region of the MGDG and DGDG bilayers, the galactolipid and water molecules interact via direct H-bonds and water bridges.
(2) At the bilayer/water interface MGDG interacts with water more readily than DGDG.
(3) At the bilayer/water interface the lipid-lipid interactions are more readily formed in the DGDG than the MGDG bilayer.
(4) The disproportionally higher number of DGDG-DGDG interactions relative to the number of the DGDG H-bond donor and acceptor groups can be explained by screening the DGDG β rings from the water by the α rings. This screening results in the hydration disparity of the DGDG α and β rings and the different preferences of the rings to interact via H-bonds and water bridges.
(5) The network of inter-lipid interactions at the DGDG bilayer interface is more stable and extended than that in the MGDG bilayer. Nevertheless, a DGDG aggregate under ambient conditions does not form HII phase in water spontaneously; this is most likely due to the cylindrical shape of the DGDG molecule and its large head group.
(6) In the system consisting of two MGDG bilayers separated by a water layer containing 6,750 H2O molecules (15 H2O/MGDG) a MGDG stalk structure begins to form; the structure is visible as local vertical contacts of MGDG head groups from the apposing bilayer leaflets separated by water-filled tunnels (W15 system).
(7) The number of lipid-lipid and lipid-water interactions at the interface of the water-filled tunnel of the MGDG stalk structure is similar to that of the MGDG bilayer.
(8) The number of lipid-water interactions in the locally connected regions of the MGDG stalk structure is smaller than that at the interface of the MGDG bilayer.
(9) In the locally connected regions of the MGDG stalk structure both horizontal (between lipids from the same bilayer leaflet) and vertical (between lipids from apposing bilayer leaflets) inter-lipid H-bonds and water bridges are formed.
(10) The total number of lipid-lipid horizontal and vertical interactions in the locally connected regions of the MGDG stalk structure is greater than the number of horizontal lipid-lipid interactions in the MGDG bilayer.
(11) The number of lipid-water interactions in the MGDG HII phase is similar to that in the locally connected regions of the stalk structure and smaller than that in the MGDG bilayer.
(12) The number of inter-lipid H-bonds (horizontal) in the MGDG HII phase is greater than in the MGDG bilayer (horizontal) and similar to the total (horizontal and vertical) number of inter-lipid H-bonds in the locally connected regions of the MGDG stalk structure. The number of water bridges in the MGDG HII phase is greater than in the MGDG bilayer and moderately similar to the total (horizontal and vertical) number of water bridges in the locally connected regions of the MGDG stalk structure.
(13) From 11 to 12 one can conclude that when the nonlamellar phase is formed, the lipid-water interactions are, to some extent, replaced by lipid-lipid interactions.
Statements
Data availability statement
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
Author contributions
MP-G conceived the study. JH, MM and MPG designed the study. JH carried out all MD simulations and analyses. RS performed all network analyses. MM supervised the computations. JH and RS created all figures and films. MP-G wrote the final version of the manuscript with input from all authors. All authors discussed the results, read, and approved the submitted version.
Funding
This research was supported in part by PL-Grid Infrastructure. The work has been partly performed under the Project HPC-EUROPA3 (INFRAIA-2016-1–730,897), with the support of the EC Research Innovation Action under the H2020 Programme. The open-access publication of this article was funded by the Department of Computational Biophysics and Bioinformatics, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
Acknowledgments
J.H. gratefully acknowledges the support of Waldemar Kulig, University of Helsinki, and the computer resources and technical support provided by CSC, also the support by the project for PhD students and Young Scientists FBBB N19/MNW/000014.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Supplementary material
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2022.958537/full#supplementary-material
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Summary
Keywords
monogalactolipid, digalactolipid, bilayer, stalk structure, inverse hexagonal phase, inter-lipid interactions, interaction network
Citation
Hryc J, Szczelina R, Markiewicz M and Pasenkiewicz-Gierula M (2022) Lipid/water interface of galactolipid bilayers in different lyotropic liquid-crystalline phases. Front. Mol. Biosci. 9:958537. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.958537
Received
31 May 2022
Accepted
11 July 2022
Published
15 August 2022
Volume
9 - 2022
Edited by
Isabel María López-Lara, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico
Reviewed by
Christopher Garvey, Technical University of Munich, Germany
Ravi K. Shukla, DIT University, India
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© 2022 Hryc, Szczelina, Markiewicz and Pasenkiewicz-Gierula.
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*Correspondence: Marta Pasenkiewicz-Gierula, marta.pasenkiewicz-gierula@uj.edu.pl; Michal Markiewicz, m.markiewicz@uj.edu.pl
This article was submitted to Lipids, Membranes and Membranous Organelles, a section of the journal Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
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