Fructans insert between the headgroups of phospholipids

Fructans are polysaccharides consisting of one glucose unit and two or more fructose units. It was hypothesized that fructans play a role in drought tolerance in plants by interacting directly with the membrane. In this paper we investigated this hypothesis by studying fructan-membrane interactions in hydrated mono- and bilayer systems. It was found that fructans inserted between the headgroups of different kinds of phospholipids with some preference for phosphatidylethanolamine. Insertion occurred even under conditions of very tight lipid packing. The presence of a surface associated layer of fructan was observed in both model systems. This layer was able to reduce the ability of a surface-active protein to interact with the lipids. Fructans showed a much stronger effect on the different lipid systems than other (poly)saccharides, which appears to be related to their hydrophobic properties. Fructans were able to stabilize the liquid-crystalline lamellar phase, which is consistent with a drought protecting role in plants.