Download Membrane transport

Master’s project:
Single-molecule fluorescence studies of a membranebound transport machine
Solute carrier (SLC) membrane transport proteins control a broad range of vital
physiological functions, such as the uptake of nutrients and the transport of ions. SLCs
interact with several important drugs, and a
quarter of the more than 400 SLC genes are
associated with human diseases. Yet, compared
to other gene families of similar stature, SLCs
are relatively understudied. In particular, for
many transporters, the molecular mechanisms
underlying substrate transport remain elusive.
We have used state-of-the-art single-molecule
FRET imaging approaches to visualize the
structural dynamics of protein machines in realtime1. Our laboratory is currently applying these
approaches to understand the transport dynamics
of a transport protein that is of fundamental
importance for human health and disease.
The main focus of this project is to investigate the conformational/structural
dynamics of the transporter during substrate transport.
In practice, the project involves:
•
Carrying out single-molecule FRET experiments to monitor, in real-time, the
transport dynamics of individual transporters.
•
Collecting and analyzing single-molecule trajectories under various experimental
conditions •
Investigating how binding of the substrate is coupled to its transport and the
structural dynamics of the transporter
Interested candidates are kindly asked to send their CV to: Assistant Professor Sebastian
Deindl ([email protected]), Department of Cell & Molecular Biology
1 Hwang, Deindl, et al., Nature 2014; Deindl et al., Cell 2013