Publication Abstract from PubMed
The ubiquitous SecY-Sec61 complex translocates nascent secretory proteins across cellular membranes and integrates membrane proteins into lipid bilayers. Several structures of mostly detergent-solubilized Sec complexes have been reported. Here we present a single-particle cryo-EM structure of the SecYEG complex in a membrane environment, bound to a translating ribosome, at subnanometer resolution. Using the SecYEG complex reconstituted in a so-called Nanodisc, we could trace the nascent polypeptide chain from the peptidyltransferase center into the membrane. The reconstruction allowed for the identification of ribosome-lipid interactions. The rRNA helix 59 (H59) directly contacts the lipid surface and appears to modulate the membrane in immediate vicinity to the proposed lateral gate of the protein-conducting channel (PCC). On the basis of our map and molecular dynamics simulations, we present a model of a signal anchor-gated PCC in the membrane.
Cryo-EM structure of the ribosome-SecYE complex in the membrane environment.,Frauenfeld J, Gumbart J, Sluis EO, Funes S, Gartmann M, Beatrix B, Mielke T, Berninghausen O, Becker T, Schulten K, Beckmann R Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2011 May;18(5):614-21. Epub 2011 Apr 17. PMID:21499241[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.