ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY INVESTIGATION OF RECO NSTITUTION PROCESSES OF MITOCHONDRIAL F(0)F(1)-ATPASE INTO THE LIPID-MEMBRANES

Reconstitution process of the mitochondrial F0F1-ATPase into the lipid bilayer has been studied by electron microscopy. The reconstitution w as carried out by detergent dialysis. Effects of the following factors on the self-assembling and the incorporation of the protein complex i nto the lipid matrix were examined: lipid/protein/detergent ratio, pH, ionic strength of the medium, presence of bivalent ions, nature of li pids and detergents, along with temperature. The conditions for the op timum reconstitution F0F1-ATPase into the lipid bilayer were found. It made possible to obtain a set of lipid-protein structures: membrane f ragments, proteoliposomes, filamentous structures and two-dimensional crystals. The two-dimensional crystals of F0F1-ATPase are of importanc e for structural and functional investigations of the complex and its components. the optical diffraction of the crystal images showed the r esolution range to be about 2-3 nm. The unit cell parameters were: a = 12 nm, b = 25 nm, gamma = 90-degrees.