2004 Protein Derived Cofactors Gordon Conference

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

The Gordon Research Conference on Protein Derived Cofactors, Radicals, and Quinones will be held January 11 to 16, 2004 at the Holiday Inn, Ventura CA. This conference has evolved from conferences on quinones and quinoproteins. Because of the properties of quinones and their involvement in biological electron transfer, a topic that became a natural component of the early conferences was electron transfer, especially long-range electron transfer. Because of the chemistry of quinones and the involvement of free radicals in their reactions and in biological electron transfer, radicals also became a focus in earlier programs. Many quinones in biocatalysis are quinoproteins, in which amino acid residues have been modified post-translationally to quinones that serve as cofactors. Other post-translational modifications of amino acid side chains in proteins have been discovered in recent years, and these too have been included in the programs of this conference. The topics of this conference are further related by the fact that the chemistry of the biological processes is novel, both biologically and chemically, and for this reason are of interest to a broad range of chemists, biophysicists, and biologists. The biosynthesis of novel cofactors within the scope of this conference, the functions of these cofactors, the roles of radicals and electron transfer in the actions of cofactors, and the structures of enzymes incorporating novel cofactors will be emphasized. Travel support and conference fees will be provided for increasing participation of young participants and for fostering diversity among participants.