Abstract
Physiological significances and mechanism of turnover phenomenon of phospholipids, especially phosphatidylycerol, in bacteria were reviewed. The main points are as follows; discovery and estimation method of phosholipid turnover, relation between metabolic perturbations and phospholipid turnover, turnover rate of individual residue in phospolipid molecule, difference of turnover rate in phospholipid molecular species, and products of phospholipid turnover. Although much experimental data on the physiological significance of phosholipid turnover has been accumulated, they are so disunited from each other that, a consistent explanation of the results has never been obtained. On the other hand, the mechanism of phospholipid turnover has been fairly well elucidated by the determination of the turnover rate of individual residue in phospholipid molecule and the investigation of products of phospholipid turnover. Studies in this field have just begun to use biochemical approaches instead of bacterial-physiological methods and rapid development is expected.
