Lipids are a diverse and ubiquitous group of compounds which have many key biological functions, such as acting as structural components of cell membranes, serving as energy storage sources and participating in signaling pathways. Lipids may be broadly defined as hydrophobic or amphipathic small molecules that originate entirely or in part from two distinct types of biochemical subunits or "building blocks": ketoacyl and isoprene groups. The
huge structural diversity found in lipids arises from the biosynthesis of various combinations of these building blocks. For example, glycerophospholipids are composed of a glycerol backbone linked to one of approximately 10 possible headgroups and also to 2 fatty acyl/alkyl chains, which in turn may have 30 or more different molecular structures. In practice, not all possible permutations are detected experimentally, due to chain preferences depending on the cell type and also to detection limits - nevertheless several hundred distinct glycerophospholipid molecular species have been detected in mammalian cells.
Plant chloroplast thylakoid membranes however, have unique lipid composition as they are deficient in phospholipids. Also, their largest constituent, monogalactosyl diglyceride or MGDG, does not form aqueous bilayers. Nevertheless, dynamic studies reveal a normal lipid bilayer organisation in thylakoid membranes.