Main description:

The topic of the 29th Hosbach Colloquium Energy Transduction in Biological Membranes is one of the most formidable problems in biology. Its solu- tion in molecular terms has proved to be a very difficult task for a whole generation of biochemists. The Mosbach Colloquia had so far not yet covered this subject. In for- mer Mosbach Colloquia some contributions were closely related, such as the lecture by E. C. Slater on the mitochondrial respiratory chain, presented 25 years ago. A broader coverage of this subject was given in the Mosbach Colloquia on Biochemistry of Oxygen in 1968, and on Inhib- itors: Too ls in Ce II Research in 1 969, which contained several lectures related to bioenergetics. Today progress and understanding of the energy transduction in biolog- ical membranes had advanced to the stage where we can formulate reli- able theories on many facets of the energy transduction process. On the other hand, the primary energy conservation steps are as contro- versial as ever and challenge the field for an all-out effort for re- solving these burning problems. The 29th !1osbach Colloquium has given a broad and vivid picture of this situation, illustrating the progress and also the controversial problems currently debated.

Contents:

Organization of Electrontransport Systems.- Evolutionary Aspects of Biological Energy Conversion.- Organization of the Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain.- Contribution of the Mitochondrial Genetic System to the Biogenesis of Ubiquinone: Cytochrome c Oxidoreductase.- Beef Heart Complex III: Isolation and Characterization of the Heme b-Carrying Subunits.- Sequence Homology of Cytochrome Oxidase Subunits to Electron Carriers of Photophosphorylation.- Low Temperature Electron Transport in Cytochrome c in the Cytochrome c-Cytochrome Oxidase Reaction: Evidence for Electron Tunneling.- Structure and Function of Iron-Sulfur Proteins.- Organization of the Photosynthetic Electron Transport System of Chloroplasts in the Thylakoid Membrane.- Electron Transport Phosphorylation in Anaerobic Bacteria.- Primary Mechanisms of Energy Conservation.- The Plastoquinone Pool as Possible Hydrogen Pump.- Proton Pumping Across the Thylakoid Membrane Resolved in Time and Space.- Redox-Linked Proton Pumps in Mitochondria.- Light-Driven Proton Translocation and Energy Conservation by Halobacteria.- Conformational Changes and Cooperation of Bacteriorhodopsin.- Structure and Function of ATP-Synthesizing Systems.- Structure, Function, and Regulation of the Mitochondrial Adenosine Triphosphatase Complex of Rat Liver - A Progress Report.- Protonophoric Action of Coupling Factor ATPase - Its Reconstitution from Purified Subunits, Reconstitution Into ATP-Synthesizing Vesicles, and Image Reconstruction.- Energy Transfer Inhibition in Photophosphorylation and Oxidative Phosphorylation by 3'-Esters of ADP.- Amino Acid Sequence of the Putative Protonophore of the Energy-Transducing ATPase Complex.- Chemical Mechanisms in Energy Coupling.- On the Role and Interrelation of Nucleotide Binding Sites in Oxidative Phosphorylation.- Photoaffinity Labeling of Coupling Factor ATPase from Micrococcus luteus.- Long-Chain n-Alkylamines as Inhibitors of Coupling and Uncoupling in Beef Heart Mitochondria.- Control and Dynamics of Energy Conservation.- Control of Energy Flux in Biological Systems.- The Efficiency of Oxidative Phosphorylation.