ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters constitute a large class of molecular pumps whose central role in chemotherapy resistance has highlighted their clinical relevance. We investigated whether the lipid composition of the membrane affects the function and structure of HorA, a bacterial ABC multidrug transporter. When the transporter was reconstituted in a bilayer where phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), the main lipid of the bacterial membrane, was replaced with phosphatidylcholine (PC), ATP hydrolysis and substrate transport became uncoupled. Although ATPase activity was maintained, HorA lost its ability to extrude the prototypical substrate Hoechst33342. Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) revealed that, although the secondary structure of the protein was unaffected, the orientation of the transmembrane helices (TM) was modified by the change in lipid composition. The orientation of the backbone carbonyls indicated that the helices opened wider in PE versus PC-containing liposomes, with 10 degrees difference. This was supported by hydrogen/deuterium exchange studies showing increased protection of the backbone from the solvent in PC-containing liposomes. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance was used to further probe the structural change. In the PC-containing liposomes we observed increased mobility of the spin label in TM4, along with increased exposure to molecular oxygen, used as a hydrophobic quencher. This indicates that the lipid change induced modification of the orientation of TM4, exposing Cys-180 to the lipid phase. The lipid composition of the bilayer thus modulates the structure of HorA, and in turn its ability to extrude its substrates.Over the last thirty years, our vision of the biological membrane has evolved from the fluid mosaic model (1) to that of a remarkably complex system where a myriad of molecules are tightly organized along the membrane plane to properly interact and achieve numerous biological functions.Precise interplay between lipids and proteins must occur to achieve biological function, and membrane proteins have evolved specific sequence motifs to adapt to their environment. Studies have begun to evidence how proteins and lipids interact. It emerges notably that membrane proteins are surrounded by a shell of slow-moving lipids (annular lipids) distinguishable from the bulk phase. Other lipids (non-annular lipids) can achieve tight and specific interactions with a protein and act as cofactors essential to protein function (2, 3). The lipid composition of the membrane can have significant effects on, and even regulate, membrane protein function. In a number of cases, protein function is proposed to be influenced by the bulk physico-chemical properties of the membrane, which in turn are strictly determined by the exact lipid composition of the bilayer (2-4). Such properties include hydrophobic thickness (4), phase transition (5), curvature (6), and lateral pressure (3). It has also been proposed that a specific lipid might act as a molecular cha...