|
|
Centres of Excellence in Hungary
Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
H-6701 Szeged, Temesvári krt. 62., P.O.Box 521, Hungary
Phone: 36-62-432-232, Fax: 36-62-432-576
The Biological Research Center (BRC) is an independent scientific organization for molecular and cellular biology in Hungary. The staff of 500 includes 239 scientists of international recognition.
The BRC is a consortium of 5 Institutes, 4 of them are
located in Szeged and one in Budapest. The centre is governed by the
Board of Directors, headed by a General Director elected periodically
from among the Directors of the individual Institutes. Scientific
activity is organized in research teams dealing with various aspects
of molecular biology directly related to the improvement of quality
of life.
An International Training Course, open for young scientists from all
over the word, in particular from the Central/Eastern European
countries (CEEC), has been running at BRC for 28 years. BRC
scientists actively and successfully take part in the EU 5th
Framework Programme. To facilitate 5th FP participation,
BRC has been trusted with the role of serving as the domestic Liaison
Office for the "Cell Factory" Key Action. BRC provides home for the
UNESCO Environmental Biology Chair and the Department of
Biotechnology of the University of Szeged.
The current position and future potential of the BRC to sustain
its leading role in modern molecular and cellular biology in Hungary,
and in the CEEC region, has been favourably judged by an European
Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) committee. The "first ever"
independent evaluation carried out on a Central/Eastern
European research establishment concluded in 1999:
"The BRC has, since its opening in 1971, emerged as a world
center in its area of research. This is an astounding achievement
under difficult circumstances. A group of outstanding
directors...managed to generate and maintain a level of excellence
that Hungary can be proud of. The EMBO committee was most impressed
by the high standards of the Center. Out of the 46 groups, the
Committee evaluated 16 groups as very good or excellent. These groups
are world class. The most outstanding achievements were in the
areas of plant biology and developmental genetics. This level of
excellence is even more impressive considering the level of funding
the BRC. The BRC have an overall annual budget of about 9 million DM.
A similar centre of excellence in these areas biological research in
countries of the European Union would certainly have a budget more
than five-fold higher! This is a remarkable difference. The situation
is indeed critical for the BRC and Hungarian research in general."
Incidentally,
the projects rated excellent by the EMBO evaluation almost exactly
match the work packages of the Centre of Excellence proposal.
The topics include plant biotechnology, artificial chromosomes,
developmental biology and biological energy production. In addition,
a new national initiative, called Biotechnology2000, has been
introduced, which specifically targets the development of the
industrial sector relevant to BRC interests. This focused program
will devote around 40 million Euros to the development of a
competitive biotechnology industry in selected national priority
areas.
BRC scientists take part in international research networking.
There are several active participants in the various COST Actions and
EUREKA projects, others take leading part in European Science
Foundation, EMBO activities and the only CEEC member of the External
Advisory Group to the 5th FP Cell Factory key action is a
BRC scientist as well. Particularly strong institutional links have
been developed with the ICGEB Centre in Trieste (Italy), the Max
Planck Institut für Züchtunsforschung in Cologne (Germany),
and the Institut des Sciences Vegetales, CNRS, Gif-sur-Yvette
(France).
With
the help of the Centre of Excellence support from the EU, BRC
will focus on further improving its scientific performance and
extending its activity to education and practical application.
The teaching activities of BRC scientists will remain a
high priority, in particular at graduate and postgraduate level.
Since International Training Course and the UNESCO Chair courses are
attended by students from the neighboring countries, these activities
have direct regional impact as well.
The
detailed research programme and the results (scientific publications)
can be found on our homepage: http://www.szbk.u-szeged.hu/
Institute
of Biophysics
Director: Pál Ormos pali@nucleus.szbk.u-szeged.hu
Research units:
Laboratory of Membrane Bioenergetics
Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology
Laboratory of Membrane Structure and Dynamics
Laboratory of Microbial Gas Metabolism
Selected publications:
Dér, A.,
Száraz, S., Tóth-Boconádi, R., Tokaji Z.,
Keszthelyi L. and Stoeckenius. W. Alternative translocation of
protons and halide ions by bacteriorhodopsin. Proc. Natl.
Acad. Sci. USA 88(11), 4751-4755. (1991)
Galajda, P. and Ormos,
P. Complex micromachines produced and driven by light. Applied
Physics Letters, 78, 249-251 (2001)
Hanczár, T.,
Bodrossy, L., Csáki, R., Murrell, J.C. and Kovács
K.L. Hydrogen driven methane oxidation in Methylococcus
capsulatus (Bath). Arch. Microbiol., 177,
167-172. (2002)
Hoyk, Zs., Párducz,
Á., and Theodosis, D.T. The highly sialylated isoform of
the neural cell adhesion molecule is required for estradiol-induced
morphological synaptic plasticity in the adult arcuate nucleus. Eur.
J Neurosci., 13/4, 649-656, (2001)
Kota, Z., Horvath,
L.I., Droppa, M., Horvath, G., Farkas, T., and Pali, T. Protein
assembly and heat stability in developing thylakoid membranes during
greening. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99(19),
12149-12154. (2002)
Institute
of Biochemistry
Director: László Vígh vigh@nucleus.szbk.u-szeged.hu
Research units:
Membrane-Lipid and Molecular Stress BiologyProjects
Neurobiology Projects
Eukaryotic Molecular Biology Projects
Nucleic Acid Research Projects
Selected publications:
Darula,
Zs., Kövér, K.E., Monory, K., Borsodi, A., Makó,
E., Rónai, A., Tourwé, D., Péter, A., Tóth,
G.: Deltorphin II analogues with
6-hydroxy-2-aminotetralin-2-carboxylic acid in position 1. J.
Med. Chem. 43:1359-1366, 2000.
Fábián,
G., Bozó, B., Szikszay, M., Horváth, G., Coscia, C.J.,
Szűcs, M.: Chronic morphine-induced changes in mu-opioid receptors
and G proteins of different subcellular loci in rat brain. J.
Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 302: 774-780, 2002.
Kiss,
A., Pósfai, Gy., Zsurka, G., Raskó, T., Venetianer,
P.: Role of DNA minor groove interactions in substrate recognition
by the M.SinI and MEcoRII DNA (cytosine-5)
methyltransferase. Nucl. Acids Res. 29: 3188-3194, 2001.
Kitajka,
K., Puskás, L.G., Zvara, Á., Hackler, L.,
Barcelo-Coblijn, G., Yeo, Y.K., Farkas, T.: The role of n-3
polyunsaturated fatty acids in brain: Modulation of rat brain gene
expression by dietary n-3 fatty acids. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
99: 2619-2624, 2002.
Mátés,
L., Korpos, É., Deák, F., Liu, Z.Q., Beier, D.R.,
Aszódi, A., Kiss, I.: Comparative analysis of the mouse and
human genes (Matn2 and MATN2) for matrilin-2, a filament-forming
protein widely distributed in extracellular matrices. Matrix
Biol. 21: 163-174, 2002.
Monory, K., Bourin,
M.C., Spetea, M., Tömböly, Cs., Tóth, G., Matthes,
H.W., Kieffer, B.L., Hanoune, J., Borsodi A.: Specific activation of
the mu opioid receptor (MOR) by endomorphin 1 and endomorphin 2.
Eur. J. Neurosci. 12:577-584, 2000.
Muratoglu, S., Georgieva, S.,
Pápai, G., Scheer, E., Izzet Enünlü1, Komonyi, O.,
Cserpán, I., Lebedeva, E., Nabirochkina, E., Udvardy, A.,
Tora, L., Boros, I.: Two different Drosophila ADA2 homologues are
present in distinct GCN5 histone acetyltransferase-containing
complexes. Mol. Cell. Biol., közlésre elfogadva.
Perna, N.T.,
Plunkett, G., Burland, V., Mau, B., Glasner, J.D., Rose, D.J.,
Mayhew, G.F., Evans, P.S., Gregor, J., Kirkpatrick, H.A., Pósfai,
Gy., Hackett, J., Klink, S., Boutin, A., Shao, Y., Miller, L.,
Grotbeck, E.J., Davis, N.W., Lim, A., Dimalanta, E.T., Potamousis,
K.D., Apodaca, J., Anantharaman, T.S., Lin, J., Yen, G., Schwartz,
D.C., Welch, R.A., Blattner, F.R.: Genome sequence of
enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7. Nature 409:
529-533, 2001.
Török,
Zs., Goloubinoff, P., Horváth, I., Tsvetkova, N.M., Glatz,
A., Balogh, G., Varvasovszki, V., Los, D.A., Vierling, E., Crowe,
J., Vígh, L.: Synechocystis HSP17 is an amphitropic
protein that stabilizes heat-stressed membranes and binds denatured
proteins for subsequent chaperone-mediated refolding. Proc. Natl.
Acad. Sci. USA 98: 3098-3103, 2001.
Institute of Genetics
Director: István Raskó rasko@nucleus.szb.u-szeged.hu
Research units:
Laboratories Of Nitrogen Fixation
Laboratories Of Developmental
Genetics
Laboratories Of Human Molecular
Genetics
Laboratories Of Molecular Immunology
Selected publications:
Mihály
J., Hogga I., Gausz J., Gyurkovics H., Karch F.
(1997) In situ dissection of the Fab-7 region of the bithorax
complex into a chromatin domain boundary and a Polycomb-response
element. Development 124 1809-1820.
Csonka
E, Cserpán I, Fodor K, Holló Gy,
Katona R, Kereső J, Praznovszky T, Szakál
B, Telenius A, Gary deJong, Udvardy A, Hadlaczky Gy.
(2000) Novel generation of human satellite DNA-based artificial
chromosomes in mammalian cells. J. Cell Science 113:
3207-3216.
Kalmár
T, Bachrati CZ, Marcsik A, Raskó I. (2000)
A simple and efficient method for PCR amplifiable DNA extraction
from ancient bones. Nucleic Acids Res. 28: e67.
Bajusz I,
Sipos L, Györgypál Z, EA Carrington, RS
Jones, Gausz J, Gyurkovics H. (2001) The
Trithorax-mimic allele of Enhancer of zeste renders
active domains of target genes accessible to Polycombe-group
dependent silencing in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics
159:1135-1150.
B. Oláh,
E. Kiss, Z. Györgypál, J. Borzi,
Gy. Cinege, Gy. Csanádi, J. Batut, A.
Kondorosi, I. Dusha (2001) Mutation in the ntrR
gene, a member of the vap gene family, increases the
symbiotic efficiency of Sinorhizobium meliloti. Mol. Plant
Microbe Interactions Vol.14. 7:887-894.
Endre G,
Kereszt A, , Kevei Z, Mihacea S, Kaló
P, Kiss GB. (2002) A receptor kinase gene regulating
symbiotic nodule development. Nature 417:962-966.
Sinka R,
Jankovics F, Somogyi K, Szlanka T, Lukácsovich
T, Erdélyi M. (2002) poirot, a new regulatory gene of
the Drosophila oskar acts at the level of the short Oskar protein
isoform Development 129:3469-3478
Institute
of Plant Biology
Director: Imre Vass imre@nucleus.szbk.u-szeged.hu
Research units:
Laboratory of
Molecular Stress- and Photobiology
Laboratory of Plant
Chrono- and Photobiology
Laboratory of Plant Lipid Function
and Structure
Laboratory for
Thylakoid Membrane Energization
Laboratory of RNA
Processing
Laboratory of Cell
Division and Differentiation
Laboratory of Functional Cell
Biology
Laboratory for
Arabidopsis Molecular Genetics
Selected publications:
Magyar, Z.,
Mészáros, T., Miskolczi, P., Deák, M., Fehér,
A., Brown, S., Kondorosi, É., Athanasidas, A., Pongor, S.,
Bilgin, M., Bakó, L., Koncz, Cs. and Dudits D. (1997) Cell
cycle phase specificity of putative cyclin-dependent kinase variants
in synchronized alfalfa cells. The Plant Cell, 9:
223-235.
Kis, M., Zsiros, O.,
Farkas, T.,. Wada, H, Nagy, F., and Gombos, Z. (1998) Light-induced
expression of fatty acid desaturase genes. Proc. Natl. Acad.
Sci.USA, 95: 4209-4214.
Máté,
Z., Sass, L., Szekeres, M., Vass, I. and Nagy, F. (1998)
"UV-B induced differential transcription of psbA genes
encoding the D1 protein of Photosystem II in the cyanobacterium
Synechocystis 6803" J.Biol. Chem., 273, 17439-17444.
Deák, M.,
Horváth, V. G., Davletova, S., Török, K.,
Sass, L., Vass, I., Barna, B., Király, Z. and Dudits, D.
(1999) Plants expressing the iron-binding protein, ferritin,
ectopically are tolerant to oxidative damage and pathogens. Nat.
Biotech., 17: 192-196.
Kircher, S.,
Kozma-Bognár, L., Kim, L., Ádám, É.,
Harter, K., Schäfer, E., Nagy, F. (1999) Light quality and
quantity dependent nuclear translocation of phyA and phyB
photoreceptors in higher plants. Plant Cell, 11, 1445-1456.
Simidjiev, I.,
Stoylova, S., Amentisch, H., Jávorfi, T., Mustárdy,
L., Laggner, P., Holzenburg, A., and Garab, G. (2000) Self-assembly
of large, ordered lamellae from non-bilayer lipids and integral
membrane proteins in vitro. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA,
97: 1473-1476.
Jády, B.E.
and Kiss, T. (2001) A small nucleolar RNA functions both in
2'-O-ribose methylation and pseudouridylation of the U5 spliceosomal
RNA. EMBO J., 20, 541-551.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
|
|