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Membrane proteins – Functional dynamics and coupling to cellular networks
European Journal of Cell Biology 90 (2011) 687
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
European Journal of Cell Biology journal homepage: www.elsevier.de/ejcb
Editorial
Membrane proteins – Functional dynamics and coupling to cellular networks
This Special Issue of the European Journal of Cell Biology provides contributions by members of the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 431 on “Membrane proteins – Functional dynamics and coupling to cellular networks” that, with the end of 2010, expired after 12 years, the maximally possible funding period. The reviews reflect, on the one hand, the research activities of the members over the funding period with a special focus on the last three years, but also include the development of the respective research fields. Research in the SFB concentrated on membrane proteins in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells which mediate transport of material, energy and information. Hereby, not only the membrane proteins themselves were of interest, but also their coupling to regulatory networks which leads to specific cellular responses. The research spectrum covered transport proteins for ions, metabolites and biopolymers, membrane-dependent signal transduction and the dynamics of intracellular membrane protein distribution. During the last years new projects led to a change in the main focus from traditional biophysical and biochemical issues towards membranerelated aspects of molecular cell biology. However, the emphasis on the structure, function and regulation of membrane proteins,
0171-9335/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ejcb.2011.04.003
which was internationally acknowledged as the backbone side of the SFB, remained unchanged. Simultaneously, a further important element remained unchanged which characterized the SFB from its very beginning – the combination of a stringent molecular with an integrative approach. We appreciate funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft over more than one decade, and also gratefully acknowledge the great support from the University of Osnabrück and from the Lower Saxonian Ministry of Science and Culture. Furthermore we thank the EJCB Editor, Manfred Schliwa, and the publisher for the possibility to present our research in this Special Issue of the European Journal of Cell Biology. Helmut Wieczorek Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Barbarastrasse 11, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany E-mail address: [email protected]
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
European Journal of Cell Biology journal homepage: www.elsevier.de/ejcb
Editorial
Membrane proteins – Functional dynamics and coupling to cellular networks
This Special Issue of the European Journal of Cell Biology provides contributions by members of the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 431 on “Membrane proteins – Functional dynamics and coupling to cellular networks” that, with the end of 2010, expired after 12 years, the maximally possible funding period. The reviews reflect, on the one hand, the research activities of the members over the funding period with a special focus on the last three years, but also include the development of the respective research fields. Research in the SFB concentrated on membrane proteins in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells which mediate transport of material, energy and information. Hereby, not only the membrane proteins themselves were of interest, but also their coupling to regulatory networks which leads to specific cellular responses. The research spectrum covered transport proteins for ions, metabolites and biopolymers, membrane-dependent signal transduction and the dynamics of intracellular membrane protein distribution. During the last years new projects led to a change in the main focus from traditional biophysical and biochemical issues towards membranerelated aspects of molecular cell biology. However, the emphasis on the structure, function and regulation of membrane proteins,
0171-9335/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ejcb.2011.04.003
which was internationally acknowledged as the backbone side of the SFB, remained unchanged. Simultaneously, a further important element remained unchanged which characterized the SFB from its very beginning – the combination of a stringent molecular with an integrative approach. We appreciate funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft over more than one decade, and also gratefully acknowledge the great support from the University of Osnabrück and from the Lower Saxonian Ministry of Science and Culture. Furthermore we thank the EJCB Editor, Manfred Schliwa, and the publisher for the possibility to present our research in this Special Issue of the European Journal of Cell Biology. Helmut Wieczorek Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Barbarastrasse 11, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany E-mail address: [email protected]