Single-molecule atomic force microscopy reveals clustering of the yeast plasma-membrane sensor Wsc1.

ABSTRACT: Signalling is a key feature of living cells which frequently involves the local clustering of specific proteins in the plasma membrane. How such protein clustering is achieved within membrane microdomains ("rafts") is an important, yet largely unsolved problem in cell biology. The plasma membrane of yeast cells represents a good model to address this issue, since it features protein domains that are sufficiently large and stable to be observed by fluorescence microscopy. Here, we demonstrate the ability of single-molecule atomic force microscopy to resolve lateral clustering of the cell integrity sensor Wsc1 in living Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. We first localize individual wild-type sensors on the cell surface, revealing that they form clusters of approximately 200 nm size. Analyses o

SUBMITTER: Heinisch JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2885430 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature