Melittin, the soluble peptide of bee venom, has been demonstrated to induce lysis of
phospholipid liposomes. We have investigated the dependence of the lytic activity of melittin
on lipid composition. The lysis of liposomes, measured by following their mass and
dimensions when immobilised on a solid substrate, was close to zero when the negatively
charged lipids phosphatidyl glycerol or phosphatidyl serine were used as the phospholipid
component of the liposome. Whilst there was significant binding of melittin to the liposomes …