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Related Concept Videos

Facilitated Diffusion01:16

Facilitated Diffusion

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The plasma membrane, a critical structure in cellular biology, houses an array of transporters, or carrier proteins, interspersed within its lipid bilayer. These proteins play a crucial role in solute transport through facilitated diffusion, a form of passive diffusion that uses transporters to move the molecules across the membrane.
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
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Facilitated Transport01:19

Facilitated Transport

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The chemical and physical properties of plasma membranes cause them to be selectively permeable. Since plasma membranes have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, substances need to be able to transverse both regions. The hydrophobic area of membranes repels substances such as charged ions. Therefore, such substances need special membrane proteins to cross a membrane successfully. In  facilitated transport, also known as facilitated diffusion, molecules and ions travel across a...
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Facilitated Transport01:19

Facilitated Transport

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The chemical and physical properties of plasma membranes cause them to be selectively permeable. Since plasma membranes have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, substances need to be able to transverse both regions. The hydrophobic area of membranes repels substances such as charged ions. Therefore, such substances need special membrane proteins to cross a membrane successfully. In  facilitated transport, also known as facilitated diffusion, molecules and ions travel across a...
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Facilitated Transport01:19

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Diffusion01:12

Diffusion

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Diffusion is the passive movement of substances down their concentration gradients—requiring no expenditure of cellular energy. Substances, such as molecules or ions, diffuse from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration in the cytosol or across membranes. Eventually, the concentration will even out, with the substance moving randomly but causing no net change in concentration. Such a state is called dynamic equilibrium, which is essential for maintaining overall...
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Diffusion01:21

Diffusion

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Diffusion is a type of passive transport. In passive transport, a substance tends to move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration until the concentration is equal across the space. For example, take the diffusion of substances through the air. When someone opens a perfume bottle in a room filled with people, the perfume is at its highest concentration in the bottle and is at its lowest at the edges of the room. The perfume vapor will diffuse, or spread away, from the...
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Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
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Cation Diffusion Facilitator family: Structure and function.

Olga Kolaj-Robin1, David Russell1, Kevin A Hayes1

  • 1Department of Chemical & Environmental Sciences, and Materials and Surface Science Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.

FEBS Letters
|April 22, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cation Diffusion Facilitators (CDFs) transport heavy metals. A newly discovered CDF protein lacks a C-terminal domain (CTD), challenging existing knowledge of this protein family.

Keywords:
Cation Diffusion FacilitatorMaricaulis marisMembrane proteinZinc transporter

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Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Cation Diffusion Facilitators (CDFs) are membrane proteins that transport metal ions like zinc.
  • These proteins typically have a two-part structure: a transmembrane domain (TMD) and a C-terminal domain (CTD).
  • CDFs are crucial for metal tolerance and resistance through ion efflux.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe a novel subfamily of CDF proteins.
  • To investigate the implications of a CTD-lacking CDF transporter.
  • To update the understanding of the CDF protein family.

Main Methods:

  • Bioinformatic analysis of CDF protein sequences.
  • Identification and characterization of a novel CDF transporter from Maricaulis maris.
  • Comparative analysis of CDF protein structures.

Main Results:

  • A new subfamily of CDF proteins lacking the CTD was identified.
  • A specific CTD-lacking CDF transporter from Maricaulis maris was discovered, transporting Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺.
  • This finding challenges the established two-modular architecture model for CDFs.

Conclusions:

  • The CDF protein family is more diverse than previously thought.
  • The CTD may not be essential for the function of all CDF transporters.
  • Further research is needed to understand the structure-function relationships of CTD-lacking CDFs.