Integrated structural genomics in Europe

The emerging ‘Structural Genomics’ initiatives provide novel opportunities to complement the rapidly increasing amount of genomic sequence data with the three-dimensional molecular structures of the coded genes. Many of the gene products exert their cellular functions combinatorially by interacting with multiple partners. Unravelling the molecular structures of these interactors provides the most useful information to investigate their involvement in cellular processes. To this end, the determination of structures exceeds the number of coded gene products by several orders of magnitude. ‘Structural Genomics’ offers opportunities to synergize European research in structural biology technologies, with a multitude of excellent centres currently available. In this contribution, current initiatives of the Hamburg Outstation of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory will be outlined.