SFB 472:  Molecular Bioenergetics

• Subject Area: Biology ; Medicine
• Term: from 1997 to 2008
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5480788

We aim at elucidating basic processes of bioenergetics associated withmembranes of every living cell. This mainly includes reactions ofphotosynthesis and respiration under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, and coupled ion or solute transport. Research groups deal with the determination of structures of membrane proteins as well as their functions, employing a wide spectrum of techniques ranging from molecular biology to theoretical approaches. Studies focus on the understanding of molecular mechanisms of energy transduction, such as the coupling of electron transfer to ion translocation across membranes. Twenty groups are linked in an interdisciplinary setting, comprising several departments of the Frankfurt Goethe University, the Max-Planck Institute for Biophysics, and the TU Darmstadt.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres

Completed projects

• P01 - Ion transport of energy transducing membrane proteins (Project Head Bamberg, Ernst )
• P02 - Structure and function of mitochondrial NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) (Project Heads Brandt, Ulrich ;  Zickermann, Volker )
• P03 - Supramolecular architecture of energy-transducing membrane protein complexes in chloroplasts and mitochondria (Project Heads Dencher, Norbert A. ;  Seelert, Holger )
• P4 - Struktur und Mechanismus wasserstoffübertragender Enzyme (Project Head Griesinger, Christian )
• P5 - Der Kopplungsmechanismus bei der Fumarat-Atmung von Wolinella succinogenes (Project Head Simon, Jörg )
• P6 - Mechanismus der Polysulfid-Atmung (Project Heads Klimmek, Oliver ;  Kröger, Achim )
• P07 - Structure and molecular mechanisms of membrane proteins in energy transfer and energy conversion (Project Heads Kühlbrandt, Werner ;  Vonck, Janet )
• P08 - Electron transport and proton translocation in bacterial respiratory chains (Project Head Ludwig, Bernd )
• P09 - Terminal Oxidases: Structural and Mechanistic Investigations (Project Head Michel, Hartmut )
• P10 - Ermittlung der Lösungsstrukturen von Elektronentransferproteinen (Project Head Rüterjans, Heinz )
• P11 - Respiratory chain supercomplexes and dimeric ATP synthase (Project Head Schägger, Hermann )
• P13 - Messung von Enthalpieänderungen während des Protonentransports von Bakteriorhodopsin (Project Head Butt, Hans-Jürgen )
• P15 - Multidimensional EPR spectroxcopy on redox active proteins (Project Head Prisner, Thomas F. )
• P16 - Mechanism of Active Ion Transport (Project Head Fendler, Klaus )
• P17 - Structure and mechanism of the cytochrome bc1 compley and of related supercomplexes (Project Head Hunte, Carola )
• P18 - Alternative NADH: Ubichinon Oxidoreduktase von Yarrowia lipolytica (Project Head Kerscher, Stefan )
• P19 - Structure and Mechanism of Dihaem-Containing Succinate: Quinone Oxidoreductases (Project Head Lancaster, Roy )
• P20 - Aufklärung des Mechanismus des Cytochrom bc1-Komplexes mit Hilfe von Mutanten des "Rieske"-Proteins (Project Head Link, Thomas A. )
• P21 - Infrared spectroscopic investigations on energy transducing membrane proteins (Project Head Mäntele, Werner )
• P22 - Einzelpartikelanalyse von elektronenmikroskopischen Aufnahmen zur Bestimmung der Strukturen von Komplex I aus Yarrowia lipolytica und der ATP-Synthase aus Saccharomyces cerecisiae (Project Head Radermacher, Michael )
• P23 - Modellrechnungen an einer Hydrogenase und an einem Elektronentransportsystem (Project Head Helms, Volkhard )
• P24 - Reaction induced FTIR difference spectroscopy in the mid and low infrared range: identification of cofactor interactions (Project Head Hellwig, Petra )
• P25 - Organic Synthesis of photolabile cofactors and NMR investigation of antibody fragments reporting Rieske domain movements of the bc1 complex (Project Head Schwalbe, Harald )
• P26 - Structure and Function of the Mitochondrial Transport Complex Mdl1p from S. cerevisiae (Project Head Tampé, Robert )
• P27 - Primary Photoreactions of Membrane Proteins in Energy and Signal Transduction (Project Head Wachtveitl, Josef )
• P28 - Strukturelle und funktionelle Untersuchungen von Proteinen der Photosynthesemembran eukaryontischer Organismen (Project Head Büchel, Claudia )
• P29 - Quantum chemical investigation of excitation energy and electron transfer in light harvesting complexes (Project Head Dreuw, Andreas )
• P30 - Structure and function of ATP synthases with unusual membrane-embedded rotors (Project Head Müller, Volker )
• P31 - Investigation of Bacterial Proton Pumps by Solid-State NMR (Project Head Glaubitz, Clemens )
• P32 - Electrostatic calculations on ion transporting membrane proteins (Project Head Hauser, Karin )
• P33 - Bioenergetics of respiratory nitrate ammonification (Project Head Simon, Jörg )
• Z1 - Central tasks of the Collaborative Research Centre (Project Head Ludwig, Bernd )

• Applicant Institution: Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
• Participating Institution: Max-Planck-Institut für Biophysik ; Abteilung Biophysikalische Chemie; Max-Planck-Institut für Biophysik ; Abteilung Molekulare Membranbiologie; Max-Planck-Institut für Biophysik ; Abteilung Strukturbiologie
• Participating University: Technische Universität Darmstadt
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Bernd Ludwig