 CREOEM studies reveal that reconstituting the pentameric ligand-gated ion channel, PLGIC, a linear ligand-gated ion channel, ELIC, in different nanodiscs produces distinct structures and molecular dynamic simulations indicate that the nanodisc plays a crucial role in determining ELIC structure. This article was authored by Vikram Dalil, Mark J. R. Keria, John T. Petrov, and others.