@article{BaxaSteinbacherWeintraubetal.1999,
  author    = {Baxa, Ulrich and Steinbacher, Stefan and Weintraub, Andrej and Huber, Robert and Seckler, Robert},
  title     = {Mutations improving the folding of phage P22 tailspike protein affect its receptor binfing activity},
  year      = {1999},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SchulerFuerstOsterrothetal.2000,
  author    = {Schuler, Benjamin and F{\"u}rst, Frank and Osterroth, Frank and Steinbacher, Stefan and Huber, Robert and Seckler, Robert},
  title     = {Plasticity and steric strain in a parallel beta-helix: Rational mutations in P22 tailspike protein},
  year      = {2000},
  abstract  = {By means of genetic screens, a great number of mutations that affect the folding and stability of the tailspike protein from Salmonella phage P22 have been identified. Temperature-sensitive folding (tsf) mutations decrease folding yields at high temperature, but hardly affect thermal stability of the native trimeric structure when assembled at low temperature. Global suppressor (su) mutations mitigate this phenotype. Virtually all of these mutations are located in the central domain of tailspike, a large parallel beta-helix. We modified tailspike by rational single amino acid replacements at three sites in order to investigate the influence of mutations of two types: (1) mutations expected to cause a tsf phenotype by increasing the side-chain volume of a core residue, and (2) mutations in a similar structural context as two of the four known su mutations, which have been suggested to stabilize folding intermediates and the native structure by the release of backbone strain, an effect well known for residues that are primarily evolved for function and not for stability or folding of the protein. Analysis of folding yields, refolding kinetics and thermal denaturation kinetics in vitro show that the tsf phenotype can indeed be produced rationally by increasing the volume of side chains in the beta-helix core. The high-resolution crystal structure of mutant T326F proves that structural rearrangements only take place in the remarkably plastic lumen of the beta-helix, leaving the arrangement of the hydrogen-bonded backbone and thus the surface of the protein unaffected. This supports the notion that changes in the stability of an intermediate, in which the beta-helix domain is largely formed, are the essential mechanism by which tsf mutations affect tailspike folding. A rational design of su mutants, on the other hand, appears to be more difficult. The exchange of two residues in the active site expected to lead to a drastic release of steric strain neither enhanced the folding properties nor the stability of tailspike. Apparently, side-chain interactions in these cases overcompensate for backbone strain, illustrating the extreme optimization of the tailspike protein for conformational stability. The result exemplifies the view arising from the statistical analysis of the distribution of backbone dihedral angles in known three-dimensional protein structures that the adoption of straight phi/psi angles other than the most favorable ones is often caused by side-chain interactions.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{HuberRiglingBebietal.2013,
  author    = {Huber, Robert and Rigling, Andreas and Bebi, Peter and Brand, Fridolin Simon and Briner, Simon and Buttler, Alexandre and Elkin, Che and Gillet, Francois and Gret-Regamey, Adrienne and Hirschi, Christian and Lischke, Heike and Scholz, Roland Werner and Seidl, Roman and Spiegelberger, Thomas and Walz, Ariane and Zimmermann, Willi and Bugmann, Harald},
  title     = {Sustainable land use in Mountain Regions under global change synthesis across scales and disciplines},
  series = {Ecology and society : a journal of integrative science for resilience and sustainability},
  volume    = {18},
  journal   = {Ecology and society : a journal of integrative science for resilience and sustainability},
  number    = {3},
  publisher = {Resilience Alliance},
  address   = {Wolfville},
  issn      = {1708-3087},
  doi       = {10.5751/ES-05499-180336},
  pages     = {20},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Mountain regions provide essential ecosystem goods and services (EGS) for both mountain dwellers and people living outside these areas. Global change endangers the capacity of mountain ecosystems to provide key services. The Mountland project focused on three case study regions in the Swiss Alps and aimed to propose land-use practices and alternative policy solutions to ensure the provision of key EGS under climate and land-use changes. We summarized and synthesized the results of the project and provide insights into the ecological, socioeconomic, and political processes relevant for analyzing global change impacts on a European mountain region. In Mountland, an integrative approach was applied, combining methods from economics and the political and natural sciences to analyze ecosystem functioning from a holistic human-environment system perspective. In general, surveys, experiments, and model results revealed that climate and socioeconomic changes are likely to increase the vulnerability of the EGS analyzed. We regard the following key characteristics of coupled human-environment systems as central to our case study areas in mountain regions: thresholds, heterogeneity, trade-offs, and feedback. Our results suggest that the institutional framework should be strengthened in a way that better addresses these characteristics, allowing for (1) more integrative approaches, (2) a more network-oriented management and steering of political processes that integrate local stakeholders, and (3) enhanced capacity building to decrease the identified vulnerability as central elements in the policy process. Further, to maintain and support the future provision of EGS in mountain regions, policy making should also focus on project-oriented, cross-sectoral policies and spatial planning as a coordination instrument for land use in general.},
  language  = {en}
}