Using Cryogenic electron microscopy and image data analysis with the help of large computing capacities, the research group led by Professor Hans-Peter Braun of the Institute of Plant Genetics at Leibniz University Hannover succeeded in resolving the structure of a protein supercomplex of the plant respiratory chain. The project was carried out in cooperation with the research team led by Dr. Niklas Klusch and Professor Werner Kühlbrandt from the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt.
The results were published in the journal Nature Plants: The project provides new and unexpected insights into the functioning of the supercomplex. The supercomplex indirectly contributes to the formation of the energy-rich compound adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is involved in numerous molecular processes in cells. The results lead to a deeper understanding of a centrally important biological energy conversion process, which could also be used biotechnologically in the future.
- Press release Leibniz Universität Hannover (5.01.2023):
Struktur eines Proteinsuperkomplexes der pflanzlichen Atmungskette aufgeklärt - Nature Plants – News & Views (2023): Mitochondrial respiration. Super-complex supercomplex
- Article in Nature Plants (2022):
Cryo-EM structure of the respiratory I + III2 supercomplex from Arabidopsis thaliana at 2 Å resolution - Back-to-back publication, research team of University of California/Davis, Nature Plants (2022):
Plant-specific features of respiratory supercomplex I + III2 from Vigna radiata
