The chloroplast protein import channel Toc75: pore properties and interaction with transit peptides
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Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Studying Protein Import into Chloroplasts Using Protoplasts
Published on: December 10, 2018
Silke C Hinnah1, Richard Wagner, Natalia Sveshnikova
1Fachbereich Biologie/Chemie, Universität Osnabrück, D-49034 Osnabrück, Germany.
Abstract:
The channel properties of Toc75 (the protein import pore of the outer chloroplastic membrane) were further characterized by electrophysiological measurements in planar lipid bilayers. After improvement of the Toc75 reconstitution procedure the voltage dependence of the channel open probability resembled those observed for other beta-barrel pores. Studies concerning the pore size of the reconstituted Toc75 indicate the presence of a narrow restriction zone corresponding to the selectivity filter and a wider pore vestibule with diameters of approximately 14 A and 26 A, respectively. Interactions between Toc75 and different peptides (a genuine chloroplastic transit peptide, a synthetic peptide resembling a transit peptide, and a mitochondrial presequence) show that Toc75 itself is able to differentiate between these peptides and the recognition is based on both conformational and electrostatic interactions.
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