Professor Poul Nissen from Aarhus University in Denmark talks about micro-management of amino acid transporters during an online lecture which was part of the Joint ESS - MaxIV Science Colloquium series.
WATCH A VIDEO RECORDING OF THE TALK HERE.
Micro-management of amino acid transporters
Biomembranes and membrane transport are fundamental components of life, establishing order in chaotic surroundings. Active transporters help compounds travel against (electro)chemical gradients to reach their goal. We study such transporters that couple uphill transport of amino acids and neurotransmitters with the downhill influx of Na+ into cells. Using serial synchrotron crystallography approaches, we have determined structures of human and bacterial amino acid transporters and are also preparing for time-resolved studies. Aiming for analysis of hydrogen-bonding networks, we explore growth of large membrane protein crystals for neutron diffraction studies.