Kerry McGill

Kerry
McGill

Membrane proteins occupy a variety of functional niches in the cell including structural support, regulation, and communication; understanding how these proteins accomplish their role in the cell can be enhanced with the knowledge of the membrane protein structure. One method of membrane protein structure determination is via 2D crystallography. In this method, solubilized membrane proteins are crystallized in lipid membranes via manipulation of the dialysis conditions, like lipid to protein ratio (LPR), salt type and concentration, dialysis length, lipid type and concentration, etc. As these conditions are changed, 2D crystals are screened for via uranyl acetate negative staining and imaging with a transmission electron microscope. Once crystallization conditions are optimized for membrane formation, high resolution images are taken via electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM). A crystal structure is determined with the help of image processing. Both membrane bound and membrane associated membranes can be studied via 2D crystallography. Understanding the structure of membrane proteins can lead to insight on how proteins function within the cell.

Schmidt-Krey
Biology