Mechanosensitive (MS) ion channels are the primary molecular transducers of mechanical force into electrical and/or chemical intracellular signals in living cells. These force-gated channels have been implicated in numerous mechanotransduction processes ranging from cellular osmoregulation to touch, hearing and blood pressure control. Much of what we know about the basic physical principles underlying the conversion of mechanical force into conformational changes of MS channels comes from studies of MS channels reconstituted into artificial liposomes. In combination with fluorescence spectroscopy methods, such as Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), molecular biological methods that allow introduction of fluorescent labeling in vivo and in vitro, and functional patch-clamp and patch-fluorometry recording techniques, liposome reconstitution methods have made MS channel proteins accessible to detailed studies of their structure and function as well as the protein-membrane lipid interactions affecting the channel gating. The speaker will focus on the use of all these methods in studies of structural dynamics of bacterial MS channels MscL and MscS, which are to date among the best studied membrane channels functioning in mechanotransduction processes in living cells. Furthermore, the applicability of the knowledge acquired through the studies of MscL and MscS to other types of MS ion channels including TREK-1, TRAAK and Piezo1, will be discussed.
About the speaker
Prof Boris Martinac received his BSc in Physics in 1976 and PhD in Biophysics in 1980 from RWTH Aachen University in Germany. In 1993 he became a Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia, in Perth, Australia where he rose to the rank of Full Professor in 2004. From 2005 to 2009 he was a Foundation Chair of Biophysics at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. In 2009 he moved to Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney, Australia as Professor till now.
Prof Martinac’s research interest focuses on mechanosensory transduction, which is defined as the ability of living cells to respond to a wide variety of mechanical stimuli and convert them into electrical and/or biochemical intracellular signals to ensure survival, is to a large extent dependent on a class of membrane proteins known as mechanosensitive ion channels.
Prof Martinac received numerous awards including the Travel Award by the Australian Academy of Science in 2002 and Bob Robertson Medal for outstanding contributions to the field of biophysics in Australia and New Zealand by the Australian Society for Biophysics. He was also elected the Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2013 and the Peter Lauf Lecturer for outstanding achievements in research on mechanosensitive ion channels by the International Congress on “Hydration & Cell Volume Regulation”, Tübingen, Germany.
The lecture is free and open to all. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.
