The Tom channel in the mitochondrial outer membrane: alive and kicking.
The targeting of newly-made polypeptides to specific membranes, and the subsequent ability of a membrane to allow only certain polypeptides into its compartment, are essential to maintain the ultrastructure of Eukaryotic cells. Distinct oligomeric protein complexes in each cellular membrane catalyse these translocation processes. A recent report [Hill K et al. Nature 1998;395:516-521 (Ref. 1)] of the reconstitution of the translocation channel from the mitochondrial outer membrane, after producing the major structural component of the channel by recombinant means, promises a system to dissect in molecular detail the exact working of one of these protein translocation machines.
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D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000378:metabolism; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D033681:Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins; D000090622:Mitochondrial Precursor Protein Import Complex Proteins; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D009492:Neurospora crassa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018272:Porins / Q000378:metabolism; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D002352:Carrier Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D033681:Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins; D000090622:Mitochondrial Precursor Protein Import Complex Proteins; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D018272:Porins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C066555:Tom40 protein, S cerevisiae