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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Thompson JR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3297801 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Thompson James R JR Cronin Bríd B Bayley Hagan H Wallace Mark I MI
Biophysical journal 20111201 11
We have observed the assembly of the staphylococcal pore-forming toxin α-hemolysin using single-molecule fluorescence imaging. Surprisingly, assembly from the monomer to the complete heptamer is extremely rapid, occurring in <5 ms. No lower order oligomeric intermediates are detected. Monte Carlo simulation of our experiment shows that assembly is diffusion limited, and pore formation is dependent on the stability of intermediate species. There are close similarities between bacterial pore-formi ...[more]