Electron and atomic force microscopy of the trimeric ammonium transporter AmtB

EMBO Rep. 2004 Dec;5(12):1153-8. doi: 10.1038/sj.embor.7400296.

Abstract

Escherichia coli AmtB is an archetypal member of the ammonium transporter (Amt) family, a family of proteins that are conserved in all domains of life. Reconstitution of AmtB in the presence of lipids produced large, ordered two-dimensional crystals. From these, a 12 A resolution projection map was determined by cryoelectron microscopy, and high-resolution topographs were acquired using atomic force microscopy. Both techniques showed the trimeric structure of AmtB in which each monomer seems to have a pseudo-two-fold symmetry. This arrangement is likely to represent the in vivo structure. This work provides the first views of the structure of any member of the Amt family.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cation Transport Proteins / chemistry*
  • Cryoelectron Microscopy
  • Crystallization
  • Escherichia coli
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / chemistry*
  • Microscopy, Atomic Force

Substances

  • AmtB protein, E coli
  • Cation Transport Proteins
  • Escherichia coli Proteins