Enzyme reactivities and their applications

The binational doctoral college “Enzyme reactivities and their applications”, grouping together groups from the Universities of Freiburg and Strasbourg, was inaugurated in 2007. The research and teaching of this college focus on the assembly, structure, mechanism and regulation of membrane proteins and the interactions of membrane proteins with distinct properties of the biological membrane.

Doctoral College members are recognised experts in the scientific field of enzymes, transporters, channels and cofactors containing enzymes, including membrane proteins, while others are expert in the synthesis of inhibitors and other bioactive compounds like antibiotics. The consortium is working on various aspects of this wide and extensive field, such as the integration of proteins in biological membranes, the structure of membrane proteins, the assembly of multiprotein complexes in the membrane, the insertion of cofactors, the reactivity of cofactors, the transport of proteins and small molecules through the membrane, and the interactions between the membrane and the incorporated proteins. Given the varying points of view on the same biological system, miscellaneous complementary and innovative techniques are used among the members of the different groups in the two countries creating new synergies.