Austrian Crystallographic Diffraction Consortium

The Austrian Crystallographic Diffraction Consortium (ACDC) BAG aims at supporting several macromolecular structural biology groups across Austria (in total 20 research groups at 9 institutions in 4 cities). We employ mainly the technique of X-ray crystallography to characterize macromolecular biological complexes, but also solution scattering approaches are frequently used to characterize dynamic assemblies. Approval of this BAG will be essential for researchers in all our groups to carry out their structural studies on various health-related and basic research-oriented topics, which are targeted at characterizing large molecular assemblies or proteins currently under-represented in the PDB, including membrane proteins. Corresponding high-resolution diffraction data are only obtainable through the use of synchrotron radiation sources. Thus regular synchrotron access is highly desirable to maintain a competitive advantage in our individual research fields.

奥地利晶体衍射联盟（Austrian Crystallographic Diffraction Consortium, ACDC）BAG旨在为奥地利境内的大分子结构生物学研究团队提供支持，该联盟覆盖4座城市的9家科研机构，共计20个研究小组。本团队主要采用X射线晶体学（X-ray crystallography）技术对大分子生物复合物进行结构表征，同时也频繁使用溶液散射（solution scattering）方法解析动态分子组装体。该BAG的获批，对所有研究小组开展各类与健康相关及基础研究导向的结构学研究至关重要，这些研究旨在解析当前蛋白质数据库（Protein Data Bank, PDB）中占比偏低的大型分子组装体或蛋白质（包括膜蛋白）的结构。相应的高分辨率衍射数据仅能通过同步辐射光源（synchrotron radiation sources）获取，因此稳定的同步辐射使用权限，对我们在各自研究领域保持竞争优势极为关键。