Project Summary
Mitochondrial beta-barrel membrane proteins are crucial for cellular metabolism and require the sorting and assembly machinery (SAM) for their insertion into the outer membrane. By a combination of structural biology and functional assays this project aims to answer the basic cell biology question how SAM inserts hydrophobic beta-barrel proteins into the mitochondrial outer membrane. Analysis will include investigation of the supercomplex formed by SAM with the translocase of the outer membrane (TOM) and cover quality control mechanism to remove unproductive import intermediates.
