ATP synthases in chloroplasts (cpATPase) and mitochondria (mtATPase) are responsible for ATP production during photosynthesis and oxidative phosphorylation, respectively. Both enzymes consist of two multisubunit complexes, the membrane-bound coupling factor O and the soluble coupling factor 1. During cpATPase biosynthesis, several accessory factors facilitate subunit production and orchestrate complex assembly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Metabolite, ion and protein translocation into chloroplasts occurs across two membranes, the inner and the outer envelope. Solute and metabolite channels fulfill very important functions in integrating the organelles into the metabolic network of the cell. However so far only a few have been identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEscherichia coli is a Gram-negative bacterium that can use nitrate during anaerobic respiration. The catalytic subunit of the periplasmic nitrate reductase NapA contains two types of redox cofactor and is exported across the cytoplasmic membrane by the twin-arginine protein transport pathway. NapD is a small cytoplasmic protein that is essential for the activity of the periplasmic nitrate reductase and binds tightly to the twin-arginine signal peptide of NapA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathway is a protein targeting system present in many prokaryotes. The physiological role of the Tat pathway is the transmembrane translocation of fully-folded proteins, which are targeted by N-terminal signal peptides bearing conserved SRRxFLK 'twin-arginine' amino acid motifs. In Escherichia coli the majority of Tat targeted proteins bind redox cofactors and it is important that only mature, cofactor-loaded precursors are presented for export.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe TatC protein is an essential component of the Escherichia coli twin-arginine (Tat) protein translocation pathway. It is a polytopic membrane protein that forms a complex with TatB, together acting as the receptor for Tat substrates. In this study we have constructed 57 individual cysteine substitutions throughout the protein.
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