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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: Biochim Biophys Acta. 2014 Feb 13;1837(10):1769–1780. doi: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2014.02.003

Fig. 5. Comparison of AFM images of a membrane patch containing gold-labelled cytbc1 complexes and a non-labeled control patch.

Fig. 5

A1. 3D view of a gold-labelled patch showing the LH2 regions (green outline) and RC-LH1-PufX dimer regions (white outline). The magenta section across the 15.6 nm-high feature (A4) is compatible with a gold bead atop a cytbc1 complex dimer. The blue section shows the 8.3 nm separation (A5) typical of a core dimer. A2. Model of how the complexes reside in the membrane in relation to the mica surface; the large tip convolution prevents direct visualisation of the complexes adjacent to the putative gold label but both zigzags of LH2 and arrays of RC-LH1-PufX dimers can be seen going underneath this feature. A3. Deformation channel data for the image in A1 showing (left) a clear circular feature (magenta arrow) centred on the maximum height of the feature, and (right) a graphic demonstrating how the sides of the AFM tip would initially displace the gold bead laterally, then tap directly down upon it, then push it aside during the scanning process. B1. 3D view of a non-labelled patch with LH2 and RC-LH1-PufX regions denoted by the green and white outlines; no discrete 15.6 nm-high features were observed for any of the unlabelled membrane patches. B2. Graphic demonstrating the co-location of RC-LH1-PufX and cytbc1, showing the curvature of the membrane and the consequent lack of contact of the complexes with the mica substrate. B3. Model of the membrane in B1, showing how cytbc1 can be accommodated between rows of RC-LH1-PufX complexes. B4. Section along the area between rows of cores, putatively containing cytbc1 complexes and corresponding to the gray lines in B1, B3, showing that the cytoplasmic surfaces of the putative proteins are 9 nm above the mica. B5. Section across the area putatively containing cytbc1 complexes and corresponding to the cyan lines in B1, B3, showing that the patch is not flat on the mica but actually curved, probably as a result of the aligned RC-LH1-PufX complexes which are known to curve the membrane.