Tag 1 | Beckstein Lab

Transport of ions and small molecules across the cell membrane against electrochemical gradients is catalyzed by integral membrane proteins that use a source of free energy to drive the energetically uphill flux of the transported substrate. Here we review general principles that apply to most secondary active transporters, namely energy coupling through kinetic cycles and the thermodynamic driving forces, inverted repeat symmetry as a means to generate bi-stable systems that can function according to the alternating access model, and understanding transporters as gated pores.

The hydantoin transporter Mhp1 is a sodium?coupled secondary active transport protein of the nucleobase?cation?symport family and shares the widespread 5?helix inverted repeat transporter architecture. Our previous work showed Mhp1 functions according to the alternating access mechanism. In our new paper in EMBO J , we elucidate detailed events of substrate binding, through a combination of crystallography, molecular dynamics, site?directed mutagenesis, biochemical/biophysical assays, and the design and synthesis of novel ligands.

Ian is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar working on sustainable and expandable software for the analysis of molecular simulations. He graduated with a PhD in Physics from ASU in 2022. He worked on quantitative simulations of transporter proteins and methods and protocols to accurately calculate solvation energies of small and drug-like molecules.

This course is an introduction to biophysics for graduate and senior undergraduate students from physics, chemistry, engineering or related fields. The goal of this lecture is to give you the basics to understand and critically analyze recent publications in the interdisciplinary field of biophysics and develop a sense for how to model biological processes using physical principles.