The first structure of an ammonia channel from the Amt/MEP/Rh protein superfamily, determined to 1.35 angstrom resolution, shows it to be a channel that spans the membrane 11 times. Two structurally similar halves span the membrane with opposite polarity. Structures with and without ammonia or methyl ammonia show a vestibule that recruits NH4+/NH3, a binding site for NH4+, and a 20 angstrom-long hydrophobic channel that lowers the NH4+ pKa to below 6 and conducts NH3. Favorable interactions for NH3 are seen within the channel and use conserved histidines. Reconstitution of AmtB into vesicles shows that AmtB conducts uncharged NH3.

Membrane channel proteins of the aquaporin family are highly selective for permeation of specific small molecules, with absolute exclusion of ions and charged solutes and without dissipation of the electrochemical potential across the cell membrane. We report the crystal structure of the Escherichia coli glycerol facilitator (GlpF) with its primary permeant substrate glycerol at 2.2 angstrom resolution. Glycerol molecules line up in an amphipathic channel in single file. In the narrow selectivity filter of the channel the glycerol alkyl backbone is wedged against a hydrophobic corner, and successive hydroxyl groups form hydrogen bonds with a pair of acceptor, and donor atoms. Two conserved aspartic acid-proline-alanine motifs form a key interface between two gene-duplicated segments that each encode three-and-one-half membrane-spanning helices around the channel. This structure elucidates the mechanism of selective permeability for linear carbohydrates and suggests how ions and water are excluded.

Aquaporins are transmembrane channels found in cell membranes of all life forms. We examine their apparently paradoxical property, facilitation of efficient permeation of water while excluding protons, which is of critical importance to preserving the electrochemical potential across the cell membrane. We have determined the structure of the Escherichia coli aquaglyceroporin GlpF with bound water, in native (2.7 angstroms) and in W48F/F200T mutant (2.1 angstroms) forms, and carried out 12-nanosecond molecular dynamics simulations that define the spatial and temporal probability distribution and orientation of a single file of seven to nine water molecules inside the channel. Two conserved asparagines force a central water molecule to serve strictly as a hydrogen bond donor to its neighboring water molecules. Assisted by the electrostatic potential generated by two half-membrane spanning loops, this dictates opposite orientations of water molecules in the two halves of the channel, and thus prevents the formation of a "proton wire," while permitting rapid water diffusion. Both simulations and observations revealed a more regular distribution of channel water and an increased water permeability for the W48F/F200T mutant.

The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales.

Unfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) activate the ER transmembrane sensor Ire1 to trigger the unfolded protein response (UPR), a homeostatic signaling pathway that adjusts ER protein folding capacity according to need. Ire1 is a bifunctional enzyme, containing cytoplasmic kinase and RNase domains whose roles in signal transduction downstream of Ire1 are understood in some detail. By contrast, the question of how its ER-luminal domain (LD) senses unfolded proteins has remained an enigma. The 3.0-Å crystal structure and consequent structure-guided functional analyses of the conserved core region of the LD (cLD) leads us to a proposal for the mechanism of response. cLD exhibits a unique protein fold and is sufficient to control Ire1 activation by unfolded proteins. Dimerization of cLD monomers across a large interface creates a shared central groove formed by ␣-helices that are situated on a ␤-sheet floor. This groove is reminiscent of the peptide binding domains of major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs) in its gross architecture. Conserved amino acid side chains in Ire1 that face into the groove are shown to be important for UPR activation in that their mutation reduces the response. Mutational analyses suggest that further interaction between cLD dimers is required to form higher-order oligomers necessary for UPR activation. We propose that cLD directly binds unfolded proteins, which changes the quaternary association of the monomers in the membrane plane. The changes in the ER lumen in turn position Ire1 kinase domains in the cytoplasm optimally for autophosphorylation to initiate the UPR.Ire1 ͉ unfolded protein response ͉ MHC ͉ protein folding ͉ secretory pathway

The signal recognition particle (SRP) and its membrane-associated receptor (SR) catalyze targeting of nascent secretory and membrane proteins to the protein translocation apparatus of the cell. Components of the SRP pathway and salient features of the molecular mechanism of SRP-dependent protein targeting are conserved in all three kingdoms of life. Recent advances in the structure determination of a number of key components in the eukaryotic and prokaryotic SRP pathway provide new insight into the molecular basis of SRP function, and they set the stage for future work toward an integrated picture that takes into account the dynamic and contextual properties of this remarkable cellular machine.

The self-limiting reaction of aqueous permanganate with carbon nanofoams produces conformal, nanoscopic deposits of birnessite ribbons and amorphous MnO2 throughout the ultraporous carbon structure. The MnO2 coating contributes additional capacitance to the carbon nanofoam while maintaining the favorable high-rate electrochemical performance inherent to the ultraporous carbon structure of the nanofoam. Such a three-dimensional design exploits the benefits of a nanoscopic MnO2-carbon interface to produce an exceptionally high area-normalized capacitance (1.5 F cm-2), as well as high volumetric capacitance (90 F cm-3).

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