Lipid Regulation of Bacterial and Viral Channels and Transporters

Dear Colleagues,

While studies of ion channels and transporters are largely focused on mammalian homologs, the structures and functions of these protein families evolved long before the evolution of complex multicellular organisms. Genomic analysis has established clear evolutionary links between bacterial, viral, plant, and animal channels and transporters, which are even further confirmed by atomistic structural approaches, including X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy techniques. Therefore, bacterial and viral channels and transporters can provide useful information to their eukaryotic counterparts. However, on their own, studying bacterial and viral proteins can also provide fascinating insights into how those organisms can adapt to their environment, infect a host or evade detection, alter host metabolism, and more. There is also growing appreciation that the membranes in which these proteins are embedded can play key roles in regulating their localization and function. Membrane proteins can be regulated by the physiochemical properties of the lipids, and/or directly through lipid–protein interactions.

The aim of this Special Issue is to cover the latest achievements in our understanding of bacterial and viral ion channels, with particular focus on their regulation by the membranes in which they are embedded. Original research and review articles with the emphasis on (but not limited to) the following topics are welcome:

• Lipid regulation of bacterial and viral ion channels and transporters;
• Emerging techniques to analyze membrane lipid profiles and binding sites.

Dr. Nazzareno D'Avanzo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Membrane proteins
• Lipid regulation
• Ion channels
• Transporters
• Lipid–protein interactions
• Molecular dynamics simulations
• Analysis techniques