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SFB 628:  Functional Membrane Proteomics - From Transport Machineries to Dynamic Assemblies and Networks

Subject Area Biology
Term from 2003 to 2007
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5485691
 
Membrane proteins are the last frontier in the biology of the cell. Determining the structure and understanding the function of membrane proteins remains one of the central challenges in the post-genomic era. At present, the structures of no more than 30 different membrane proteins of 13 families have been determined. This small number is in strikingly contrast to the host of membrane proteins in the genomes sequenced so far. Irrespective of the organism, 25-30% of all genes are predicted to encode membrane proteins. More than half of these are thought to be complex membrane proteins with three or more membrane-spanning segments which carry out essential cellular reactions. To understand the functions of membrane proteins in detail and to apply this knowledge to the development of new therapies and future technologies, it will be necessary to identify and characterise the key protein components, to determine their structure at high resolution and to study their function and molecular interactions in the cell. In the Collaborative Research Centre, we will provide a broad, comprehensive approach in which the participating groups at the Goethe University and at the Max Planck Institutes of Biophysics and of Brain Research will combine forces to find out as much as possible about the identity, expression, structure, function and molecular interactions of membrane proteins and their many fundamental roles in the cell. We will use a wide spectrum of methods to examine diverse biological systems, ranging from the identification and characterisation of gene products, crystallographic and functional studies of individual proteins and protein families, to the investigation of functional networks of membrane proteins in mammalian cells and their relevance to human disease. Since membrane proteins are the least understood elements of the molecular networks that control cellular functions, interaction and evolution, we are confident that the Collaborative Research Centre will make major contributions to our understanding of fundamental cellular processes.
DFG Programme Collaborative Research Centres
International Connection USA

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