MscL: The Bacterial Mechanosensitive Channel of Large Conductance

Abstract

Publisher Summary Bacterial mechanosensitive (MS) channels are a means to study aspects of bacterial physiology and are also the most advanced model system for studying MS channel function. They have thus emerged as a paradigm for studying the sense of a protein and respond to changes in its lipid environment. Among the bacterial MS channels, mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) has been the most tractable and is currently the best studied. Identification of the gene that encodes the MscL activity gave a first glimpse and chance for the genetic study of a channel that senses and responds to mechanical force. Models for the mechanisms of channel gating and the open structure have been generated and tested by several diverse approaches. Several studies have begun to determine the precise stimuli that are sensed by this channel. The data and projected models are providing a glimpse to the molecular mechanisms underlying an MS channel activity.