SAM35 is a family of fungal proteins found in the peripheral mitochondrial outer membrane. It is essential for cell viability. It forms a subunit of the SAM (sorting and assembly machinery) complex and is crucial for the assembly of the precursors of Tom40 and porin, the outer membrane beta-barrel proteins involved in mitochondrial biogenesis [1,2]. SAM35 is required in order for the Sam50 subunit of the SAM complex to bind outer membrane substrate proteins [3].

1: Sam35 of the mitochondrial protein sorting and assembly machinery is a peripheral outer membrane protein essential for cell viability. Milenkovic D, Kozjak V, Wiedemann N, Lohaus C, Meyer HE, Guiard B, Pfanner N, Meisinger C; J Biol Chem. 2004;279:22781-22785. PMID:15067005

2: Two novel proteins in the mitochondrial outer membrane mediate beta-barrel protein assembly. Ishikawa D, Yamamoto H, Tamura Y, Moritoh K, Endo T; J Cell Biol 2004;166:621-627. PMID:15326197

3: The peripheral membrane subunits of the SAM complex function codependently in mitochondrial outer membrane biogenesis. Chan NC, Lithgow T; Mol Biol Cell. 2008;19:126-136. PMID:17978093

4: The protein import machinery of mitochondria-a regulatory hub in metabolism, stress, and disease. Harbauer AB, Zahedi RP, Sickmann A, Pfanner N, Meisinger C; Cell Metab. 2014;19:357-372. PMID:24561263