Research report 2019 - Max Planck Institute of Biophysics
Electron cryo-microscopy of membrane protein complexes
Authors
Kühlbrandt, Werner
Departments
Abteilung für Strukturbiologie
Summary
Single-particle electron cryo-microscopy (CryoEM) is ideal for determining the high-resolution structure membrane protein complexes that are too unstable or too dynamic for x-ray crystallography. Intact rotary ATPases have resisted crystallization for more than 40 years. However, central aspects of their mechanisms now have become clear thanks to the recent CryoEM based structures of intact, functional ATP synthases. The two best and most informative of these structures, the chloroplast ATP synthase and a mitochondrial ATP synthase dimer, have been shown by our department.