Cover image: The mitochondrial outer membrane translocase (TOM) recognizes and primes precursor proteins produced in the cytoplasm for import into mitochondria. Pictured are single-particle average structures of the TOM holo complex in a detergent micelle.
For references, see Two conformations of the Tom20 preprotein receptor in the TOM holo complex. Ornelas, P., Bausewein, T., Martin, J., Morgner, N., Nussberger, S. & Kühlbrandt, W . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 120 (34), e23014471, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2301447120 (2023) (Journal cover) .
Pamela Ornelas et al. used single-particle electron cryomicroscopy to image the TOM core complex from Neurospora crassa by single-particle electron cryomicroscopy at 3.3 Å resolution, showing its interaction with a bound preprotein at 4 Å resolution, and of the TOM holo complex including the Tom20 receptor at 6 to 7 Å resolution.
Image credit: Pamela Ornelas