SFB 746: Functional Specificity by Coupling and Modification of Proteins

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Function and integrity of cells within any organ or organism is guaranteed by the concerted action of many cellular processes that are realized by a large number of closely interconnected functional units. In fact, proteomic research identified numerous of these units as protein assemblies of distinct complexity. As yet, however, only a limited number of such assemblies from various cellular compartments have been successfully investigated, most of them await characterization of their architecture and functional significance. The central challenge of current and future protein and cellular research is, therefore, to elucidate composition, function and dynamics of these complex protein assemblies and to understand how they generate, on the basis of protein-protein interactions, the functional diversity and specificity required for the exquisitely precise working of cells and biological systems. Work of the Collaborative Research Center in the last two funding periods that led to a series of publications in the international top journals showed that protein complexes exhibit distinct levels of complexity: individual protein complexes with defined output, protein super-complexes that cooperate for a common task and finally protein networks, larger entities using broader signal integration to convey their highly specific output. These protein complexes operate as ¿nano-machineries¿ and comprise a number of as yet unknown protein constituents. Such nano-machineries are crucial for the control of gene expression, the sorting of proteins and rapid signal transduction processes across membranes.In the third funding period the research on "protein-encoded mechanisms of functional specificity" with emphasis on protein coupling and modification will be continued using the multidisciplinary approach that integrates analyses of different cellular systems and processes. The SFB is a consortium of groups and institutions of the Medical Faculty (basic research institutes and research groups of the University Hospital), the Faculty of Biology, and the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics that are closely connected in their research activities; these close connections together with strong support of young researchers are fundamental for the success of the SFB that represents a center piece of the Life Sciences at the University of Freiburg.