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
Completed projects
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A01 - Structure and Function of Arcaeal Membrane Transporters
(Project Head
Kühlbrandt, Werner
)
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A02 - Function of the Transport Complex TAP
(Project Heads
Abele, Rupert
;
Tampé, Robert
)
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A03 - Solid-state NMR on ABC Multidrug Transporter LmrA
(Project Head
Glaubitz, Clemens
)
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B01 - Differential Partners and Dynamics of Membrane Protein Shrew-1 in Polarized and Non-Polarized Cells
(Project Head
Starzinski-Powitz, Anna
)
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B02 - Viral and Instrinsic Modulators
(Project Head
Tampé, Robert
)
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B04 - Function of Reggie Proteins in Cell Adhesion and Membrane Receptor Trafficking
(Project Head
Tikkanen, Ritva
)
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B05 - Dynamics of Type I Interferon Receptor Assembly
(Project Head
Piehler, Jacob
)
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B06 - NMR Investigations of Mammalian Rhodopsin and of Membrane-associated Protein GARP2
(Project Head
Schwalbe, Harald
)
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C01 - Structural Membrane Proteomics and Genomics Using the Hyperthermophilic Eubacterium Aquifex aeolicus
(Project Head
Michel, Hartmut
)
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C02 - Characterization of Membrane Protein Complexes
(Project Heads
Karas, Michael
;
Schägger, Hermann
)
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C03 - Proteomics of Large Membrane Protein Assemblies: The Accessory Subunits of Mitochondrial Complex I
(Project Head
Brandt, Ulrich
)
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C04 - Structural and Functional Investigation of Membrane Proteins by Combined Approaches of Cell-Free Expression and NMR Spectroscopy
(Project Heads
Bernhard, Frank
;
Dötsch, Volker
)
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C05 - Proteomic Analysis of Postsynaptic Receptor Complexes
(Project Head
Betz, Heinrich
)
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C06 - The Synaptic Vesicle Proteome: Identification and Functional Characterization of Novel Constituents
(Project Heads
Volknandt, Walter
;
Zimmermann, Herbert
)
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C07 - Functional Analysis of Novel Proteins Associated with Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors and Synaptic Vesicles in Caenorhabditis elegans
(Project Head
Gottschalk, Alexander
)
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P04 - Protein Transport Across Biological Membranes - the HlyB/HlyA System from E.coli
(Project Head
Schmitt, Lutz
)
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P05 - Structural and Functional Analysis of Protein Translocation
(Project Head
Collinson, Ian
)
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P06 - Molecular Cross Talk at the Endothelial Membrane
(Project Head
Müller-Esterl, Werner
)
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P07 - Funkctional Dynamics of Shrew-1 in Epithelial Adherens Junctions
(Project Head
Starzinski-Powitz, Anna
)
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P08 - Viral Inhibitors of the Antigen Processing Machinery
(Project Head
Tampé, Robert
)
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P10 - Dynamics of Type I-Interferon Receptor Assembly
(Project Head
Piehler, Jacob
)
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P11 - High Resolution Spectroscopy Investigations of T-Cell Activation and G Protein Coupled Receptors
(Project Head
Schwalbe, Harald
)
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P12 - Membrane Proteomics using the Hyperthermophilic Eubacterium Aquifex Aeolicus
(Project Head
Michel, Hartmut
)
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P13 - Characterization of Membrane Protein Complexes
(Project Heads
Karas, Michael
;
Schägger, Hermann
)
-
P14 - Proteomics of Large Membrane Protein Assemblies: the Accessory Subunits of Mitochondrial Complex I
(Project Head
Brandt, Ulrich
)
-
P15 - Proteomic Analysis of Postsynaptic Receptor Complexes
(Project Heads
Betz, Heinrich
;
Kneussel, Ph.D., Matthias
)
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P16 - The Synaptic Vesicle Proteome under conditions of Rest and Activation
(Project Heads
Volknandt, Walter
;
Zimmermann, Herbert
)
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P17 - Proteomic and funkctional analysis of pre- and post-synaptic componentes in Caenorhabditis elegans
(Project Head
Gottschalk, Alexander
)
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P18 - Strukturelle und funktionelle Analyse integraler Membranproteine
(Project Head
Dötsch, Volker
)
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P19 - Functional characterization of the reggie protein family: posttranslational modifications and signaling partners
(Project Head
Tikkanen, Ritva
)
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Z01 - Zentrale Aufgaben
(Project Head
Tampé, Robert
)
