Mitochondrial proteins have to be transported into mitochondria, therefore they are equipped with a transport signal called presequence. TIM23 is crucial for the translocation of mitochondrial proteins, however, the precise mechanism of this process has been unclear. A research team including SFB1381 PIs Nils Wiedemann (project A07), Carola Hunte (project A05) and Hans-Georg Koch (project B06) showed now that the TIM23 subunit Tim17 contains a negatively charged groove which helps to guide the mitochondrial presequences: as those are positively charged on the one side and contain lipophilic residues on the other side, the interaction with Tim17 as well as the mitochondrial membrane guides the translocation.
Please find more information in the press release of the University of Freiburg and the original publication in Nature.
Illustration: Laura Fielden
