Final answer:
The transition temperature of -36°C is characteristic of a membrane composed of saturated phospholipids, which have straight fatty acid tails that pack closely together, becoming rigid at lower temperatures.
Step-by-step explanation:
The transition temperature of -36°C can be assigned to saturated phospholipids. Saturated fatty acids have straight tails because they do not contain double bonds between carbon atoms. This conformation allows them to pack closely together, which increases the van der Waals forces between the molecules, leading to a higher transition temperature where the membrane becomes less fluid and more prone to solidifying. In contrast, unsaturated phospholipids, which contain one or more double bonds in their hydrocarbon tails, have kinks that prevent tight packing and allow for greater membrane fluidity at lower temperatures. The double bonds introduce bends, providing "elbow room" which maintains fluidity even in colder environments. Hence, the presence of unsaturated fatty acid tails and double bonds in the hydrocarbon chain lowers the transition temperature and would not correspond to a transition temperature of -36°C. Cholesterol-rich membranes and glycolipids are not known to have such a low transition temperature and cholesterol actually has a stabilizing effect on membrane fluidity at both high and low temperatures.