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Abstract
Of all the macromolecular assemblies of life, the least understood is the biomembrane. This is especially true in regard to its atomic structure. Ideas on biomembranes, developed in the last 200 years, culminated in the fluid mosaic model of the membrane. In this essay, I provide a historical outline of how we arrived at our current understanding of biomembranes and the models we use to describe them. A selection of direct experimental findings on the nano-scale structure of biomembranes is taken up to discuss their physical nature, and special emphasis is put on the surprising insights that arise from atomic scale descriptions.
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Maeda S, Shinzawa-Itoh K, Mieda K, Yamamoto M, Nakashima Y, Ogasawara Y, Jiko C, Tani K, Miyazawa A, Gerle C, Yoshikawa S. Two-dimensional crystallization of intact F-ATP synthase isolated from bovine heart mitochondria. Acta Crystallogr Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun 2013; 69:1368-70. [PMID: 24316832 PMCID: PMC3855722 DOI: 10.1107/s1744309113029072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2013] [Accepted: 10/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Mitochondrial F-ATP synthase produces the majority of ATP for cellular functions requiring free energy. The structural basis for proton motive force-driven rotational catalysis of ATP formation in the holoenzyme remains to be determined. Here, the purification and two-dimensional crystallization of bovine heart mitochondrial F-ATP synthase are reported. Two-dimensional crystals of up to 1 µm in size were grown by dialysis-mediated detergent removal from a mixture of decylmaltoside-solubilized 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and F-ATP synthase against a detergent-free buffer. A projection map calculated from an electron micrograph of a negatively stained two-dimensional crystal revealed unit-cell parameters of a = 185.0, b = 170.3 Å, γ = 92.5°.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shintaro Maeda
- Picobiology Institute, Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Kouto, Kamigori Akoh, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan
| | - Kyoko Shinzawa-Itoh
- Picobiology Institute, Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Kouto, Kamigori Akoh, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan
| | - Kaoru Mieda
- Picobiology Institute, Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Kouto, Kamigori Akoh, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan
| | - Mami Yamamoto
- Picobiology Institute, Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Kouto, Kamigori Akoh, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan
| | - Yumiko Nakashima
- Picobiology Institute, Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Kouto, Kamigori Akoh, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan
| | - Yumi Ogasawara
- Picobiology Institute, Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Kouto, Kamigori Akoh, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan
| | - Chimari Jiko
- Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Kazutoshi Tani
- Cellular and Structural Physiology Institute, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
| | - Atsuo Miyazawa
- Department of Life Science, Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Kouto, Kamigori Akoh, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan
| | - Christoph Gerle
- Picobiology Institute, Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Kouto, Kamigori Akoh, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan
| | - Shinya Yoshikawa
- Picobiology Institute, Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Kouto, Kamigori Akoh, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan
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