AtOSCA3.1: Structure of a Plant Mechanosensitive Ion Channel

Two members of the OSCA protein family in Arabidopsis thaliana, AtOSCA1.1 and AtOSCA3.1, are identified as a new class of mechanosensitive ion channels. The structure of AtOSCA1.1 was solved at 3.5-Å resolution and AtOSCA3.1 at 4.8-Å resolution using cryo-electron microscopy. This research was conducted by L. Chen from Peking University.

Use Cases

• Modeling ion permeation pathways based on the identified structural features.
• Studying conformational changes for channel activation as suggested by the structural analysis.
• Comparing structural similarity to the mammalian TMEM16 family proteins for evolutionary insights.
• Training models to predict protein function from cryo-EM derived structural data.

Strengths

• Structural data includes two specific resolution figures: 3.5 Å for AtOSCA1.1 and 4.8 Å for AtOSCA3.1.
• Analysis is accompanied by electrophysiological studies, providing functional validation for the structural findings.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Peking University

Collection Method

Cryo-electron microscopy and electrophysiological studies.