Mitochondrial membranes: model lipid compositions, curvature elastic properties and the puzzle of cardiolipin

Mitochondrial membranes have a complex lipid composition: Lipids differ drastically between the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) and the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM). Both of these membranes also exhibit asymmetry. Furthermore, the composition of the membrane also varies between species. Due to incomplete lipidomics data, experimentalists often fall back on simple model mixtures. We have constructed simplified models of mammalian and drosophila mitochondrial membranes from commercially available lipids by approximating available lipidomics data.