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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Characterization of Membrane Transporters by Heterologous Expression in E. coli and Production of Membrane Vesicles
Published on: December 31, 2019
Engineering transport protein function: theoretical and technical considerations using the sugar-transporting
Xavier Soberón1, Milton H Saier
1Instituto de Biotecnologia/UNAM, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Abstract:
Potential experimental approaches for developing and applying protein-engineering protocols to transmembrane transport systems are described. We specifically consider procedures designed to alter protein function. These procedures are designed for the specific purposes of (1) changing protein interaction specificities and (2) changing a protein's catalytic function. We use sugar-transporting bacterial phosphotransferase systems as model systems to illustrate the proposed approaches. These and other similar procedures are likely to prove to be of utility for biotechnological manipulation of proteins as well as for elucidating potential evolutionary pathways taken for the appearance of novel functions within a protein family.
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