title: Bacterial mechanosensitive channels as a paradigm for mechanosensory transduction.
abstract: Research on bacterial mechanosensitive (MS) channels has since their discovery been at the forefront of the MS channel field due to extensive studies of the structure and function of MscL and MscS, two of the several different types of MS channels found in bacteria. Just a few years after these two MS channels were cloned their 3D structure was solved by X-ray crystallography. Today, the repertoire of multidisciplinary approaches used in experimental and theoretical studies following the cloning and crystallographic determination of the MscL and MscS structure has expanded by including electronparamagnetic resonance (EPR) and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) spectroscopy aided by computational modelling employing molecular dynamics as well as Brownian dynamics simulations, which significantly advanced the understanding of structural determinants of the gating and conduction properties of these two MS channels. These extensive multidisciplinary studies of MscL and MscS have greatly contributed to elucidation of the basic physical principles of MS channel gating by mechanical force. This review summarizes briefly the major experimental and conceptual advancements, which helped in establishing MscL and MscS as a major paradigm of mechanosensory transduction in living cells.
authors.affiliation: Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia. b.martinac@victorchang.edu.au
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Martinac
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000502:physiology*; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels