Purification and Characterisation of a Pore Protein of the Outer Mitochondrial Membrane from Neurospora crassa

The major protein of the outer mitochondrial membrane of Neurospora was purified. On dodecylsulfate-containing gels it displayed a single bend with an apparent molecular weight of 31000. reconstitution experiments with artifical lipid bilayers showed that this protein forms pores. Pore conductance was dependent on the voltage across the membrane. The protein inserted into the membrane in an oriented fashion, the membrane current being dependent on the sign of the voltage. Single pore conductance was 5nS, suggesting a diameter of 2nm of the open pore. This mitochondrial protein shows a number of similarities to the outer membrane porins of gram-negative bacteria.