Abstract
The voltage-gated, mitochondrial channel, VDAC, is formed by a 31-kDa outer-membrane polypeptide. Crystalline arrays of this channel, produced by phospholipase A2 treatment of Neurospora crassa mitochondrial outer membranes, consist of groups of 6 channels repeated on a parallelogram (“oblique”) lattice (a=13.3nm, b=11.5nm, γ = 109°). These membrane crystals are polymorphic, i.e. lateral contraction is triggered by a polyanion which also decreases VDAC’s gating potential. Projection images of unstained, frozen-hydrated VDAC arrays indicate that lattice contraction is accompanied by changes in the distribution of protein away from the hexameric repeat unit.
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