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Article: Plasma Membrane
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- Biology
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Plasma Membrane
Plasma membranes envelop all plant and animal cells and all single-celled eukaryotes and
prokaryotes
, separating them from their environments. Structurally, they resemble other cellular membranes, but differ slightly in their
lipid
composition and more drastically in their protein content from one cell to another and from
intracellular
membranes. These compositional similarities and differences, in turn, are reflected in the ways in which plasma membranes carry out their functions, facilitating
solute
transport, conducting signals, and anchoring cells to their environments.
The Roles of Membrane Proteins
Like other membranes, plasma membranes are essentially ...