Sam50 is a subunit of the sorting and assembly machinery (SAM) of the outer membrane.
The sorting and assembly machinery is a protein complex, that operates after the translocase of the outer membrane, to mediate insertion of beta barrel proteins into the outer mitochondrial membrane.
[1] The sorting and assembly machinery is made up of three subunits, Sam35, Sam37, and Sam50, of which Sam50 is embedded within the outer mitochondrial membrane.
[2] Both Sam35 and Sam37 are located on the cytosolic face of the SAM complex are peripheral membrane proteins that are not essential for survival.
It has been found to interact with the SAM core complex, and may play a role in assembling Tom40 into the translocase of the outer membrane.