3mp7
Lateral opening of a translocon upon entry of protein suggests the mechanism of insertion into membranes
Structural highlights
FunctionSECY_PYRFU The central subunit of the protein translocation channel SecYEG. Consists of two halves formed by TMs 1-5 and 6-10. These two domains form a lateral gate at the front which open onto the bilayer between TMs 2 and 7, and are clamped together by SecE at the back. The channel is closed by both a pore ring composed of hydrophobic SecY resides and a short helix (helix 2A) on the extracellular side of the membrane which forms a plug. The plug probably moves laterally to allow the channel to open. The ring and the pore may move independently. Complements an E.coli temperature-sensitive secY mutation; deletion of the last 15 residues prevents complementation, which may indicate a role of this region in translocation.[HAMAP-Rule:MF_01465] Evolutionary Conservation Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf. Publication Abstract from PubMedThe structure of the protein-translocating channel SecYEbeta from Pyrococcus furiosus at 3.1-A resolution suggests a mechanism for chaperoning transmembrane regions of a protein substrate during its lateral delivery into the lipid bilayer. Cytoplasmic segments of SecY orient the C-terminal alpha-helical region of another molecule, suggesting a general binding mode and a promiscuous guiding surface capable of accommodating diverse nascent chains at the exit of the ribosomal tunnel. To accommodate this putative nascent chain mimic, the cytoplasmic vestibule widens, and a lateral exit portal is opened throughout its entire length for partition of transmembrane helical segments to the lipid bilayer. In this primed channel, the central plug still occludes the pore while the lateral gate is opened, enabling topological arbitration during early protein insertion. In vivo, a 15 amino acid truncation of the cytoplasmic C-terminal helix of SecY fails to rescue a secY-deficient strain, supporting the essential role of this helix as suggested from the structure. Lateral opening of a translocon upon entry of protein suggests the mechanism of insertion into membranes.,Egea PF, Stroud RM Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Sep 20. PMID:20855604[1] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. See AlsoReferences
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