Gramicidin Channel in Lipid Bilayer
Two copies of the gramicidin protein are shown here () arranged as they are believed to be when they form a channel through a lipid bilayer membrane[1]. The shape of the protein is shown transparent (ghostly), and a backbone trace connecting the alpha carbon atoms of each amino acid chain is opaque (solid).
- Show of the gramicidin protein chains.
- (Most hydrogen atoms are omitted.)
- Show . Notice how the hydrophobic lipid "tails" exclude water.
- Water passes .
- Show .
- Show only . For an explanation of their structure, see the detailed tutorial, also disponible en español.
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See AlsoSee Also
- A detailed explanation and tutorial about Lipid Bilayers and the Gramicidin Channel.
- This model in FirstGlance in Jmol. Be sure to click the Ligands+ and Water buttons!
- BioMolecular Explorer 3D, a resource for high school teachers that includes a section on gramicidin in a lipid bilayer.
- High school teachers' resources
- The Spanish version of this page: Canal de gramicidina en bicapa lipídica (Spanish)
NotesNotes
- The PDB file shown here, File:Gramicidin in bilayer.pdb.gz, was kindly provided by Serge Crouzy.
- To load the scenes on this page into the SAT, change the page name to User:Eric_Martz/Sandbox_10, where these scenes were developed.
ReferencesReferences
- ↑ Crouzy S, Woolf TB, Roux B. A molecular dynamics study of gating in dioxolane-linked gramicidin A channels. Biophys J. 1994 Oct;67(4):1370-86. PMID:7529578 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3495(94)80618-6