Energy transport in cells. Physiological functions and structural aspects of nucleotide transport proteins

地球上所有的生命都依赖于以三磷酸腺苷(ATP)形式存在的细胞能量的可用性。在细胞中，ATP通过两种不相关的转运蛋白进行运输，即线粒体载体家族(MCF)中的ADP/ATP载体(AAC)和核苷酸转运蛋白(NTT)，它们要么存在于植物体内，要么存在于细胞内的人类病原细菌中。一方面，我们对线粒体AAC蛋白的分子结构和生物化学的了解令人印象深刻，但我们对进一步核苷酸转运MCF蛋白的细胞功能的了解却令人惊讶地贫乏。另一方面，我们知道NTT蛋白在植物和细菌中的许多生理功能，但我们对这种载体的分子结构知之甚少。这项工作将有助于揭示许多未知的MCF型核苷酸转运蛋白在植物细胞中的功能。此外，我希望从酵母内质网中鉴定ATP转运蛋白，并将阐明第一个NTT蛋白的分子结构。这项研究的结果将进一步揭示细胞如何跨膜运输ATP及其衍生物，并将为通过NTT蛋白运输ATP的结构决定因素提供深入的见解。

All life on earth depends upon the availability of cellular energy in form of adenosine triphosphate(ATP). In cells, ATP is transported via two unrelated types of transport proteins,namely so called ADP/ATP carriers (AAC) belonging to the mitochondrial carrier family (MCF),and nucleotide transporters (NTT), residing either in plant plastids or in intracellular humanpathogenic bacteria. On one hand, our knowledge on the molecular structure and biochemistryof mitochondrial AAC proteins is impressive, but our understanding of the cellular function offurther nucleotide transporting MCF proteins is surprisingly poor. On the other hand, we knowmany aspects of the physiological function of NTT proteins in plants and bacteria, but wepossess limited information about the molecular structure of this type of carrier. The work proposedhere will help to uncover the function of many uncharacterized MCF type nucleotide transportersin plant cells. Moreover, I wish to identify the ATP transporter from the yeast EndoplasmicReticulum and I will elucidate the molecular structure of a first NTT protein. The outcomeof this research will further enlighten how cells transport ATP and derivates across theirmembranes and will provide insights into the structural determinants allowing ATP transport byNTT proteins.