The German Research Foundation will fund the Collaborative Research Centre Transregio 83 'Molecular Architecture and Cellular Functions of Lipid/Protein Assemblies' for a further four years. Scientists at the interdisciplinary TU Dresden research centre BIOTEC have been researching together with partners at the universities of Heidelberg (coordination) and Bonn since 2010.
Biological membranes with their two key constituents - proteins and lipids - mediate an astonishing array of functions ranging from simple barriers to complex signal transduction platforms. In contrast to an aqueous solution, where protein interactions are controlled by a single solvent - water -, lipid bilayers contain hundreds of different acyl chains and head groups providing distinct interfaces and thus open another dimension to create architectural and functional diversity. The central aims of the TRR 83 are to characterise the molecular composition and structural organisation of distinct membrane domains, to elucidate their physical and chemical properties and to understand their physiological functions.
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Prof. Suzanne Eaton (Site Coordinator Dresden)
Tel.: +49 (0) 351 463-40124
E-Mail: suzanne.eaton@biotec.tu-dresden.de