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A snapshot of Nature's favorite pump

Nature Structural Biology volume 8, pages 920–923 (2001)Cite this article

The 4.5 Å map of the MsbA protein, a putative lipid A transporter from Escherichia coli, provides the first detailed structural model for the transmembrane domain and cytoplasmic 'loops' of an ABC transporter and the geometric relationship of these regions to the ATP-binding cassette motor domain. Based on this structure, specific hypotheses for the mechanics of the pump can now be formulated and tested.

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Figure 1: Three structural models for the ABC Transporter dimer considered in the context of a simplified model for the mechanochemistry of the pumping reaction.
Figure 2: A schematic showing an alternative model for the mechanochemistry of transmembrane solute translocation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, 75390-9040, Texas, USA

    Philip J. Thomas

  2. the Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, 10027, New York, USA

    John F. Hunt

Authors
  1. Philip J. Thomas
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  2. John F. Hunt
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Correspondence to Philip J. Thomas or John F. Hunt.

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Thomas, P., Hunt, J. A snapshot of Nature's favorite pump. Nat Struct Mol Biol 8, 920–923 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsb1101-920

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