The lecture series "Molecules of Life II" provides an introduction to biological molecules as well as the techniques to study them. For each topic, there will be a different lecturer who will introduce molecules and techniques in a 2-hour lecture. With some knowledge about the topic, it should be possible to listen to single lectures or the series.
The technique of molecular dynamics simulations has become popular to predict conformational dynamics of biomolecules and to help interpreting experimental results. In the lecture, its general concept will be introduced, from Newton's equations of motion to the treatment of electrostatic interactions. Approximations and limitations will be discussed and several application examples will be presented to demonstrate where this technique is particularly powerful.
By taking examples the lecture presents experiments on thermally driven domain motions of bio molecules as they were measured by neutron spin echo (NSE) spectroscopy. With this technique it is possible to analyze large scale domain motions in space and time. I show that such dynamics are an important element of the protein function. After an introduction into the technique of neutron spin echo (NSE), I present experimental results on alcohol dehydrogenase and discuss their analysis. After the determination of the translational and rotational dynamics it becomes possible to identify the cleft opening motion between the catalytic and binding domains that is necessary to allow the ethanol and the cofactor to reach the catalytic sites.
As a second example experiments on phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) are presented. In this protein, two domains are connected by a hinge. It is shown that large scale motion by hinge bending takes place through thermal fluctuations that brings the chemical constituents necessary for the ADP to ATP transformation in close contact to the catalytic sites.
The lecture describes the structure and function of two important components of cellular signaling: receptors register physical and chemical stimuli. The active receptors in turn initiate a sequence of biochemical reactions that eventually lead to electrical excitation of the cell. The electrical activity of cells relies on ion channels that selectively pass ions across cell membranes.
The lecture describes the functional coupling of electronics to biological systems which leads to the possibility of creating devices capable of being used as biosensors, environmental monitors, etc. This requires a basic understanding of the interaction between living biological systems (cells or cell models or cellular components) and inorganic solid state electronic substrates in an interdisciplinary effort. The most important steps are a successful bio-functionalization of solid surfaces, the detailed characterization of interactions between biosystems and their substrates, as well as the experimental realization of bioelectronic hybrid systems, e.g. biological systems communicating with electronic substrates.
Growth and Metabolism need to allow plants to adapt to their dynamically changing environment. Since the environment is also the source of resources (water, carbon, nutrients, light, etc.) the response of plant growth and metabolism to dynamic variation of resources does also determine the resource use efficiency. The lecture describes the special role and the mechanisms by which plants and plant cells adapt these activities in response to internal and external requirements and techniques that can be used to image and quantify these central processes for plant performance.
BioSoft