The structural biology of trace metal trafficking across membranes

该项目旨在研究细菌细胞如何识别并特别获得和排出必需的微量元素营养物质。细胞被生物膜包围，生物膜将细胞隔开并保护它们免受环境的影响。在这些膜中嵌入的是执行基本功能的蛋白质。在细菌中，膜蛋白负责摄取和消除生存所需的微量元素。这个项目将通过使用X射线结晶学定义它们的三维结构，来研究允许区分货物的完整膜蛋白的特征。这将有助于膜蛋白结构生物学领域和细胞微量元素动态平衡和毒性方面的基础性发现。

This project aims to investigate how essential trace element nutrients are recognised and specifically acquired and expelled by bacterial cells. Cells are surrounded by biomembranes that separate and protect them from their environments. Embedded within these membranes are proteins that perform essential functions. In bacteria, membrane proteins are responsible for the uptake and elimination of trace elements that are required for survival. This project will investigate the features of integral membrane proteins that allow discrimination between cargo, by defining their three dimensional architectures using X-ray crystallography. This will contribute to the field of membrane protein structural biology and fundamental discoveries in the area of cellular trace element homeostasis and toxicity.