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Probing molecular choreography through single-molecule biochemistry

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 22, pages 948–952 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Single-molecule approaches are having a dramatic impact on views of how proteins work. The ability to observe molecular properties at the single-molecule level allows characterization of subpopulations and acquisition of detailed kinetic information that would otherwise be hidden in the averaging over an ensemble of molecules. In this Perspective, we discuss how such approaches have successfully been applied to in vitro–reconstituted systems of increasing complexity.

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Figure 1: Development of single-molecule fluorescence approaches to study mechanistic properties of membrane transporters and channels.
Figure 2: Schematic representation of a hypothetical DNA-bound multiprotein complex (in which colored objects represent individual proteins) and the various dynamic aspects of its behavior that are ideally suited for interrogation by single-molecule fluorescence approaches.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

    Antoine M van Oijen & Nicholas E Dixon

  2. Centre for Medical and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

    Antoine M van Oijen & Nicholas E Dixon

  3. Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

    Antoine M van Oijen & Nicholas E Dixon

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  1. Antoine M van Oijen
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  2. Nicholas E Dixon
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Correspondence to Antoine M van Oijen.

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van Oijen, A., Dixon, N. Probing molecular choreography through single-molecule biochemistry. Nat Struct Mol Biol 22, 948–952 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.3119

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