Structural proteomics research programmes to get

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has announced two new research programmes that together will receive £11.5m under the Structural Proteomics of Rational Targets Initiative (SPoRT).

The Membrane Protein Structure Initiative (MPSI), a consortium of experienced membrane research groups at universities and institutes across the UK and led by the University of Glasgow, has been awarded more than £6.8m. MPSI aims to develop strategies for the efficient production, crystallisation and structure determination of proteins that are located in the membranes of cells.

Membrane proteins provide a range of functions that are essential for a healthy cell. Over 30% of human genes produce membrane proteins and more than half of the drugs in current use act on membrane proteins so they are prime targets for structural studies despite being particularly difficult to determine.

The Structural Proteomics Facility, established by the Universities of Dundee, Glasgow, St Andrews and Warwick, will receive more than £4.6m to fund an inclusive and multidisciplinary scientific programme. The programme aims to apply high throughput methods to carefully selected microbial proteins, including those involved in natural product synthesis, enzymes which are required by microbes to cause disease, and proteins involved in the life cycle of viruses. All of this information will be important in understanding and combating pathogenic micro-organisms and developing novel applications.

BBSRC chief executive,Professor Julia Goodfellow said: 'The sequencing of a large number of genomes has provided us with a wealth of information but has raised many challenging questions about the function of proteins within cells. These are exciting programmes aimed at understanding the function of important groups of proteins at the molecular level.'