Many biological processes (physiological or pathological) are relevant to membrane proteins (MPs), which account for almost 30% of the total of human proteins. As such, MPs can serve as predictive molecular biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis. Indeed, cell surface MPs are an important class of attractive targets of the currently prescribed therapeutic drugs and diagnostic molecules used in disease detection. The oligonucleotides known as aptamers can be selected against a particular target with high affinity and selectivity by iterative rounds of in vitro library evolution, known as Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential Enrichment (SELEX). As an alternative to antibodies, aptamers offer unique features like thermal stability, low-cost, reuse, ease of chemical modification, and compatibility with various detection techniques. Particularly, immobilized-aptamer sensing platforms have been under investigation for diagnostics and have demonstrated significant value compared to other analytical techniques. These “aptasensors” can be classified into several types based on their working principle, which are commonly electrochemical, optical, or mass-sensitive. In this review, we review the studies on aptamer-based MP-sensing technologies for diagnostic applications and have included new methodological variations undertaken in recent years.

Microbial ion-pumping rhodopsins (MRs) are extensively studied retinal-binding membrane proteins. However, their biogenesis, including oligomerisation and retinal incorporation, remains poorly understood. The bacterial green-light absorbing proton pump proteorhodopsin (GPR) has emerged as a model protein for MRs and is used here to address these open questions using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Specifically, conflicting studies regarding GPR stoichiometry reported pentamer and hexamer mixtures without providing possible assembly mechanisms. We report the pentameric and hexameric cryo-EM structures of a GPR mutant, uncovering the role of the unprocessed N-terminal signal peptide in the assembly of hexameric GPR. Furthermore, certain proteorhodopsin-expressing bacteria lack retinal biosynthesis pathways, suggesting that they scavenge the cofactor from their environment. We shed light on this hypothesis by solving the cryo-EM structure of retinal-free proteoopsin, which together with mass spectrometry and MD simulations suggests that decanoate serves as a temporary placeholder for retinal in the chromophore binding pocket. Further MD simulations elucidate possible pathways for the exchange of decanoate and retinal, offering a mechanism for retinal scavenging. Collectively, our findings provide insights into the biogenesis of MRs, including their oligomeric assembly, variations in protomer stoichiometry and retinal incorporation through a potential cofactor scavenging mechanism.

Actinorhodopsins represent a unique subgroup of microbial rhodopsins, predominantly found in non-marine Actinobacteria and proposed to contribute to the global energy cycle. Despite their ecological significance, structural information on this family has remained scarce. Here, we present the high-resolution three-dimensional structure of the pentameric actinorhodopsin RlActR from the actinobacterium Rhodoluna lacicola, as determined by cryo-electron microscopy and single-particle 3D reconstruction. The structure provides molecular insights into key functional amino acid residues involved in retinal cofactor binding and the proton translocation pathway. In addition to describing the organization of the retinal Schiff base region, we present a comparative analysis of this region in RlActR and in prototypical microbial rhodopsins from two distinct phyla, namely, the green-light-absorbing proteorhodopsin from Bacteria and bacteriorhodopsin from Archaea. We also describe the amino acid interactions at the oligomerization interface that stabilize the pentamer. Furthermore, the structure reveals a pentameric architecture with a lipid-filled central cavity and lipid-occupied, membrane-facing interprotomer crevices, further highlighting molecular interactions that stabilize the assembly. Phylogenetic analysis and structural comparisons with selected microbial rhodopsins exhibiting light-driven proton-pumping activity position RlActR within a distinct group of proton-pumping rhodopsins, underscoring its evolutionary and functional relevance.