Transporters shuttle molecules across cell membranes by alternating among distinct
conformational states. Fundamental questions remain about how transporters transition
between states and how such structural rearrangements regulate substrate translocation.
Here, we capture the translocation process by crystallography and unguided molecular
dynamics simulations, providing an atomic-level description of alternating access transport.
Simulations of a SWEET-family transporter initiated from an outward-open, glucose-bound …

Transporters shuttle molecules across cell membranes by alternating among distinct
conformational states. Despite a wealth of structural data supporting the existence of such
states, a critical challenge in the field is to capture transitions from one conformational state
to another, providing insights into how structural rearrangements regulate substrate
translocation. Molecular dynamics simulations represent a powerful means for observing
such transitions. However, many commonly studied transporters, including members of the …