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Protein-lipid interactions in the purple bacterial reaction centre
Michael R Jones1, Paul K Fyfe, Aleksander W Roszak
1Department of Biochemistry, School of Medical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol, UK. m.r.jones@bristol.ac.uk
Abstract:
The purple bacterial reaction centre uses the energy of sunlight to power energy-requiring reactions such as the synthesis of ATP. During the last 20 years, a combination of X-ray crystallography, spectroscopy and mutagenesis has provided a detailed insight into the mechanism of light energy transduction in the bacterial reaction centre. In recent years, structural techniques including X-ray crystallography and neutron scattering have also been used to examine the environment of the reaction centre. This mini-review focuses on recent studies of the surface of the reaction centre, and briefly discusses the importance of the specific protein-lipid interactions that have been resolved for integral membrane proteins.