出典:Wikipedia
出典:『Wikipedia』 (2011/08/03 22:33 UTC 版)
Hopanoids are pentacyclic compounds (containing five rings), whose primary function is to improve plasma membrane strength and rigidity in Bacteria. In eukaryotes (including humans) cholesterol serves a similar function. This relationship between biochemical structure and cellular function can be seen in the similarity of the basic structures of diploptene, a hopanoid compound found in some prokaryotic cell membranes, and cholesterol, a sterol compound found in eukaryotic membranes (I, II, and III in images at right).