SPP 1319: Biological Transformations without Oxygen: From the Molecular to the Global Scale

碳氢化合物是一种重要的化石能源，是化学工业广泛使用的原材料。另一方面，它们含有许多有毒化合物，由于它们的持久性和相对较高的水溶性而引起环境关注。碳氢化合物的生物形成、转化和降解在全球碳循环中发挥着重要作用。在没有氧气的情况下，碳氢化合物的数量上重要的厌氧代谢包括许多迄今未知的酶过程。特别是，涉及化学惰性C-H键激活的初始反应似乎遵循前所未有的生物化学原理。跨学科优先方案的目标是在更大的科学环境中研究碳氢化合物的缺氧转化。涉及生态生理学、微生物学、生物地球化学、生物化学、化学和结构生物学/生物物理学等领域的研究人员。目前正在研究以下主要问题：

Hydrocarbons are an important fossil energy source and serve as widely used raw material for the chemical industry. On the other side, they comprise many toxic compounds, which are of environmental concern due to their persistence and relatively high water solubility. The biological formation, transformation and degradation of hydrocarbons play an important role in the global carbon cycle. In the absence of oxygen, the quantitatively important anaerobic metabolism of hydrocarbons comprises many so far unknown enzymatic processes. In particular, the initial reactions involved in activation of chemically inert C-H-bonds appear to follow unprecedented biochemical principles. The objective of the interdisciplinary Priority Programme is to study the anoxic transformations of hydrocarbons in a greater scientific environment. Researchers in the field of ecophysiology, microbiology, biogeochemistry, biochemistry, chemistry and structural biology/biophysics are involved. The following major questions are being studied: