Biophysical Society Conference | Tahoe 2024

Molecular Biophysics of Membranes

Poster Abstracts

9-POS Board 3 NARROWING DOWN THE TEMPERATURE SENSOR IN VOLTAGE-GATED SODIUM CHANNELS OF MARINE BACTERIA Sonya M. Hanson 1 ; Gerhard Hummer 2 ; Carlos Gonzalez-Leon 3 ; Andres Jara-Oseguera 3 ; 1 Flatiron Institute, New York, NY, USA 2 Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt, Germany 3 University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA Life depends sensitively on temperature, yet how temperature is sensed remains poorly understood. Here we focus on the temperature sensitivity of the voltage-gated sodium channel channel of Silicibacter pomeroyi (NavSp1), for which previous studies have found the helical C terminal domain to be critical to temperature sensing. On the basis of bioinformatics analysis, Alphafold2-multimer models, molecular dynamics simulations, and electrophysiology experiments, we found that the coiled coil domain plays a critical role in determining temperature sensing - not just acting as a stable anchor. Through building NavSp1 chimeras, leaving the neck region intact, and swapping in the sequences of the coiled coil of other species of sodium channel or even designed coiled coils we are able to further elucidate what determines the temperature sensitivity of these channels.

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