GRK 1549: Molecular and Cellular Glyco-Sciences (MCGS). Understanding Structure/Function Relationships of Carbohydrate/Protein Interactions

含碳水化合物的生物分子-寡糖和多糖，糖蛋白和糖脂-越来越被认为是承载信息的分子，在细胞和生物体内部和之间具有非常重要的信号传导和调节功能。其中许多是由于各自的碳水化合物与细胞蛋白质（如受体或酶）的直接相互作用。我们的国际研究培训小组详细描述了细胞背景下碳水化合物/蛋白质相互作用的分子和生化方面。重点在于结构/功能关系，即阐明聚糖与其靶蛋白相互作用的结构要求。印度研究组主要研究蛋白质方面（例如，确定特定凝集素的潜在碳水化合物结合位点），而德国研究组则侧重于碳水化合物部分的分析和功能方面（例如，确定聚糖的潜在蛋白质结合域）。每个博士项目由一个印度和一个德国小组共同调查。这将在分子水平上建立对结构/功能关系的基本理解，因此，将使我们最终能够开发、验证和应用所需的工具，以开发糖结构的生物技术潜力，用于新的知识驱动应用。研究培训小组召集了一批来自生物、化学、药学和医学领域的国际知名研究团队，为博士生的培训和教育开创了跨学科和跨文化的方法。研究培训组从具有竞争力的国际申请者中招收自然科学不同学科的不同学位的候选人，包括应用科学，如生物技术、药学、医学、药理学、农业、兽医、食品和材料科学。研究培训小组提供一个基本的讲座和糖科学研讨会，三周的夏季和冬季学校，随后是一周的短途旅行，个人技术讲习班和两个使能技能模块。研究训练组将举办两年一次的MCGS网络研讨会。在成立后不久，研究培训小组由14名科学家指导的15名博士和博士后组成，其中一半来自德国，一半来自印度。

Carbohydrate-containing biomolecules - oligo- and polysaccharides, glycoproteins and glycolipids - are increasingly recognised as information-bearing molecules with highly important signalling and regulatory functions within and between cells and organisms. Many of these are due to direct interactions of the respective carbohydrates with cellular proteins, such as receptors or enzymes. Molecular and biochemical aspects of such carbohydrate/protein interactions in the cellular context are characterised in detail by our International Research Training Group. The focus lies on structure/function relationships, i.e. on elucidating the structural requirements responsible for the interaction of glycans with their target proteins. While the Indian groups are mainly dealing with the protein aspects (e.g. identifying potential carbohydrate binding sites of specific agglutinins), the German groups are focussing on the analytical and functional aspects of the carbohydrate moieties (e.g. identifying potential protein binding domains of glycans). Each doctoral project is jointly investigated by an Indian and by a German group. This will create a basic understanding of structure/function relationships at a molecular level and, thus, will allow us to eventually develop, validate and apply the tools needed to exploit the biotechnological potential of glyco-structures for novel knowledge-driven applications. The Research Training Group convenes a group of internationally recognised research teams from biology, chemistry, pharmacy and medicine, initiating an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach for the doctoral candidates training and education. The Research Training Group accepts candidates with different degrees in different disciplines of natural sciences, including applied sciences such as biotechnology, pharmacy, medicine, pharmacology, agriculture, veterinary, food and material sciences, from a competitive pool of international applicants. The Research Training Group offers a basic lecture with seminar on glyco-sciences and three-weeks summer and winter schools followed by one-week excursions, individual technical workshops and two enabling skills modules. The Research Training Group will organise bi-annual MCGS Network Symposia. Shortly after its inauguration, the Research Training Group comprised 15 doctoral and post-doctoral students advised by 14 scientists, with half of the students and scientists from Germany, half from India.