In February 2009 the Max F. Perutz Laboratories and the University of Vienna have lost a brilliant scientist and inspiring teacher, but, even more importantly, an exceptional personality, colleague and friend.
 
His remaining research projects are coordinated by Karin Nowikovsky.
 
Metal ions are known to be of prime importance for many cellular functions including membrane integrity, free radical homeostasis or differentiation processes and they act as co-factors of many essential enzymes. Mg²⁺ is of particular importance for RNAs, enabling them to form elaborate tertiary structures and to catalyze reactions like splicing. Failure to maintain appropriate levels of metal ions in humans is a feature of hereditary and acquired disorders. Toxic effects of abundant metal ions are of considerable impact on plant growth. Yet, mechanisms for the import of metal ions and in the first place the most abundant one, Mg²⁺, as well as their transport into organelles of eukaryotic cells remained unresolved. We have chosen the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an ideal model organism for a first identification of genes coding for proteins involved in Mg²⁺ uptake and homeostasis. The elaborate genetics of this organism allows us a rapid first identification of relevant genes, the location of their products in the cell and their functional involvement. Homologous genes and proteins from mammalia or plants can be screened by their putatively conserved sequence similarity and by their ability to rescue mutant yeast cells with defects in Mg²⁺ uptake and homeostasis. Their specificity of action then will be studied in the cognate organisms in order to learn about their involvement in human or animal pathology or in plant metal ion toxicity.