• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Monday, October 27, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

Getting to the bottom of all life: Visualizing a protein key to enabling

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
July 12, 2021
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Scientists reveal the exact process behind the upkeep of one of the cellular components where

IMAGE

Credit: VIPP1 oligomer image from Ben Engel and this study in CellOther images from Wataru Sakamoto(Okayama University)

“All living beings, including us, depend on photosynthesis,” says Prof. Wataru Sakamoto of the Institute of Plant Science and Resources at Okayama University, Japan, as he begins to explain the core concepts behind a recent breakthrough in understanding plant physiology, which he was involved in. “Photosynthesis produces the energy needed to sustain plants and the oxygen we breathe. This reaction occurs in two steps, the first of which involves capturing light energy
and producing oxygen. This step takes place in a cell organelle in the plant cells called the chloroplast: specifically, in the membranes of one of its components, the thylakoid. The thylakoid membrane is unique to oxygen?producing organisms like plants and cyanobacteria,
and its role has been known for over 200 years. Yet, even today in the technology age, the precise mechanisms that that shape this structure are unknown to us.”

Now, Prof. Sakamoto and an international team of scientists have answered part of this question by focusing on a membrane remodeling protein, called VIPP1, which has been found to be involved in maintaining the integrity of the thylakoid membrane. Using high resolution imaging via cryo?electron microscopy, they’ve elucidated the mechanism by which this protein protects thylakoid membrane integrity. Their findings are published in the journal Cell.

Speaking of his motivation for being part of this study, Prof. Sakamoto says, “Chloroplasts in land plants are thought to have been derived from the endosymbiosis of cyanobacteria in plants 1.5 billion years ago. I was very fascinated by this during my college years and decided to study such organelles containing multiple membranes and their own DNA, like mitochondria and chloroplasts. In my laboratory, I have been working on VIPP1 since 2006, and have reported several of its important characteristics.”

In this study, what the scientists observed was remarkable. Three VIPP1 monomers ‘flex and interweave’ in a specific formation to create a nucleotide binding pocket. Nucleotide binding to specific layers of such interwoven monomers cause layer stacking that results in basketlike structures of different symmetries. A part of the monomer is an amphiphilic–structure containing both water?attracting and water?repelling portions–helix. Within the basket
structure, these helices are oriented such that their hydrophilic (water?attracting) portions face the outside of the basket and their hydrophobic (water?repelling) portions face the inside of the basket. The hydrophobic portions are also lipid (fat) attracting. Thylakoid membranes, like most cell membranes, are lipid membranes. The hydrophobic interior of the basket structure binds to the membrane and remodels it by increasing its curvature.

In their experiments, when the scientists added mutations to prevent the hydrophobic surfaces from forming, stress on the membrane from high intensity light caused the thylakoid membrane to swell up and get damaged. This damage did not occur in membranes which had access to VIPP1 oligomers with hydrophobic surfaces.

Dr. Sakamoto explains the importance of these results in the field of research: “Our study reports that the membrane?remodeling protein VIPP1 plays a critical role in maintaining thylakoid membranes. This protein appears to share a common structure with ESCRT?III, which
is important in membrane remodeling in humans and yeast, indicating that the mechanism at play here is a common mechanism regulating membrane integrity.” Further referring to more tangible potential practical applications, he says: “Thylakoid is key to photosynthesis. Understanding its structure in detail can help crop production and thus food security. For instance, improving thylakoid membrane longevity can improve crop productivity.” And of course, all things considered, this finding resolves a long?standing mystery in the biology underlying photosynthesis.

###

Media Contact
Wataru Sakamoto
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.011

Tags: BiochemistryBiologyCell BiologyPlant Sciences
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Cracking the Code of ‘Sticky’ Chemistry: A Path to Cleaner, More Efficient Fuels

Cracking the Code of ‘Sticky’ Chemistry: A Path to Cleaner, More Efficient Fuels

October 27, 2025
blank

Exploring the Role of Water-Soluble Polymers in Wastewater Treatment

October 27, 2025

Dynamic Acoustic Mimicry through Parity Metamaterials

October 27, 2025

Revamped Design for the Electron Superhighway

October 27, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1286 shares
    Share 514 Tweet 321
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    310 shares
    Share 124 Tweet 78
  • ESMO 2025: mRNA COVID Vaccines Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

    197 shares
    Share 79 Tweet 49
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    134 shares
    Share 54 Tweet 34

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Exploring Iron, Aging, and Fibrosis in Endometriosis

Revolutionary CMOS Imager Enables Single-Neuron Brain Imaging

Perspectives on Person-Centered Care in Heart Disease

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 67 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.