Spinach Chloroplast Membranes after Differential Lipid Extraction

Chloroplasts from spinach were fixed in glutaraldehyde and extracted with three different lipid solvents, after which the lipid composition was analyzed. Studies were also made with the electron microscope. In cold dry acetone, which removes 75 % of lipids, the basic structure of the membranes is unchanged. Acetone with 10 % water removes 89 % of the lipids and a mixture of chloroform with methanol removes 93 % of the lipids, both solvents leaving nearly unrecognizable membrane structures. The relationship between lipid composition and membrane structure is discussed.