Structural and molecular mechanisms for membrane protein biogenesis by the Oxa1 superfamily

Members of the Oxa1 superfamily perform membrane protein insertion in bacteria, the eukaryotic endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and endosymbiotic organelles. Here, we review recent structures of the three ER-resident insertases and discuss the extent to which structure and function are conserved with their bacterial counterpart YidC. Recent structures of eukaryotic membrane protein insertases of the Oxa1 superfamily reveal a conserved protein module and common mechanistic principles that enable membrane insertion of a diverse set of substrates.