Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Tao X
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2869078 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Science (New York, N.Y.) 20100401 5974
Voltage sensors regulate the conformations of voltage-dependent ion channels and enzymes. Their nearly switchlike response as a function of membrane voltage comes from the movement of positively charged amino acids, arginine or lysine, across the membrane field. We used mutations with natural and unnatural amino acids, electrophysiological recordings, and x-ray crystallography to identify a charge transfer center in voltage sensors that facilitates this movement. This center consists of a rigid ...[more]