| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,550,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,050,000)
Fiscal Year 2011: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 2010: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 2009: ¥1,950,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥450,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Transport of proteins across membranes is one of the fundamental and essential cellular activities in all organisms. We solved the first 3D structure of a membrane component SecDF, which plays an important role in efficient translocation of newly synthesized proteins across the membrane in bacteria. From the structural features and functional analyses, we proposed that SecDF functions as a membrane-integrated chaperone, which drives movement of proteins without using a major currency, ATP, of energy, but with remarkable cycles of conformational changes, powered by a proton H+ion) gradient across the membrane. Our model of the SecDF function has been verified by a series of biochemical and biophysical approaches. This research uncovers a new, atomic-level principle that underlies the cellular protein delivery systems in particular and biological mechanisms of active transport in general, by which cells acquire or dispose not only macromolecules but also ions, drugs and nutrients.
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