Abstact

This study describes the use of brominated phospholipids to distinguish between lipid and detergent binding sites on the surface of a typical alpha-helical membrane protein. Reaction centers isolated from Rhodobacter sphaeroides were cocrystallized with added brominated phospholipids. X-ray structural analysis of these crystals has revealed the presence of two lipid binding sites from the characteristic strong X-ray scattering from the bromine atoms. These results demonstrate the usefulness of this approach to mapping lipid binding sites at the surface of membrane proteins.