Time sequence imaging of ExlACter by AFM on supported membrane bilayers in a buffered environment. It can be seen that upon introduction of ExlACter, the roughness of the membrane increases, the average surface area of holes decreases, and the depth of holes increases from 1.5 nm in (b) to 3.4 nm in (e).
Membrane bilayers were produced and imaged with AFM by Jean-Marie Teulon using liposomes produced by Bertrand Quentin.
Bertrand Q, et al. (2020) Exolysin (ExlA) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa punctures holes into target membranes using a “molten globule” domain. J. Mol. Biol. 432 : 4466-4480.