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Overview |
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The major funding organization in Germany, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, stimulates research with a specific and timely topic either by combining groups across the Federal Republic ("Schwerpunkt") or by supporting several laboratories from a city only (Sonderforschungsbereich = SFB). The scientific progress of a SFB is reviewed by an international board every three years, and -if the reviewers agree- funding can be renewed up to 9 - 12 years total.
The SFB Nr.413 combines a limited number of research laboratories from Munich that study the cytoskeleton and cell motility by a combination of molecular, biochemical, genetic, structural and biophysical approaches. The scientific task is funded since January 1, 1998, the work is being coordinated by a committee (M. Schleicher, M. Schliwa, W. Neupert), and 16 groups from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, the Technical University of Munich, and the Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried are currently investigating major aspects of the cytoskeleton on a strictly collaborative basis.
What is the cytoskeleton?
In analogy to the skeleton of a human body, the skeleton of a eukaryotic cell, the "cytoskeleton", has two major functions: It serves as a stabilizing structure but it is also essential for movement. The cytoskeleton consists of proteins and has to be highly dynamic in its structure. Otherwise a cell would not be able to respond quickly to signals from outside, to move, to divide, to engulf material, or to transport intracellular components from one part of the cell to another.
The specific research areas of the SFB 413
The scientific goals of the SFB 413 can be grouped into three major areas:
(A) Molecular motors and cytoskeleton-associated proteins
The studies focus on biochemical and functional characterization of cytoskeletal proteins, they include cell biological and genetic approaches, and the major filamentous systems under investigation are microtubules and actin filaments, including the corresponding motor proteins.
(B) Supramolecular und cellular movements
In difference to studies on single molecules, the projects in this area are dealing with complex motile events like phagocytosis, whole cell motility, movement of organelles, cellular responses during and after infection with bacteria or viruses.
(C) Structure of cytoskeletal proteins and biophysical approaches
The rather biologically and medically oriented research is complemented by groups with interests in biophysical and structural research. The biophysical projects help for example to understand viscoelastic properties of the cytoskeleton and the cytoplasm, crystallography and NMR will provide the basis for our understanding of structure / function relationships of the cytoskeleton at the molecular level.
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