Biophysical Journal 85 4

Cover: Steered molecular dynamics simulations show how nonhomogeneous membrane tension leads to gating of the mechanosensitive channel MscL. The starting point for the simulations was an E. coli homology model (Sukharev et al., 2001) shown here in a schematic prepared by Olga Svinarski. Five inner and ?ve outer transmembrane helices assemble in pairs, sketched as solid structures. The inner helices form a water-tight constriction within the membrane, represented as the upper gate. The N-terminal domains form a helix bundle which comprises a second gate at the bottom of the channel. See the article by Gullingsrud and Schulten on p. 2087.