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Lel A. Drachev and the Direct Electrometric Method

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Abstract

In the bioenergetics studies, the direct electrometric method played an important role. This method is based on measuring the electrical potential difference (Δψ) between two compartments of the experimental cell generated by some membrane proteins. These proteins are incorporated into closed lipid–protein membrane vesicles associated with an artificial lipid membrane that separates the compartments. The very existence of such proteins able to generate Δψ was one of the consequences of Peter Mitchell’s chemiosmotic concept. The discovery and investigation of their functioning contributed to the recognition of this concept and, eventually the well-deserved awarding of the Nobel Prize to P. Mitchell. Lel A. Drachev (1926-2022) was one of the main authors of the direct electrometrical method. With his participation, key studies were carried out on the electrogenesis of photosynthetic and respiratory membrane proteins, including bacteriorhodopsin, visual rhodopsin, photosynthetic bacterial reaction centers, cytochrome oxidase and others.

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Abbreviations

Δψ :

transmembrane potential difference

ΔµH + :

transmembrane electrochemical potential difference of hydrogen atoms

ALM:

artificial lipid membrane

bR:

bacteriorhodopsin

PSI and PSII:

photosystems I and II

RC:

bacterial reaction center

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Funding

This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 23-74-00025).

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  1. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119992, Moscow, Russia

    Vasily V. Ptushenko & Alexey Y. Semenov

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  1. Vasily V. Ptushenko
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A.Yu.S. formulated the concept of the article; A.Yu.S. and V.V.P. wrote the manuscript, discussed and edited the text.

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Correspondence to Alexey Y. Semenov.

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The authors declare no conflict of interests. This article does not contain description of studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Ptushenko, V.V., Semenov, A.Y. Lel A. Drachev and the Direct Electrometric Method. Biochemistry Moscow 88, 1417–1427 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006297923100012

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