As part of the Junior Ambassador initiative, Jorge Macedo, the Junior Ambassador of FEBS Letters and member of the Portuguese Biochemical Society Junior Section, organized a journal club at the Universitätsklinikum Tübingen (Germany) on 14 September 2026 in collaboration with FEBS Press.
The journal club was incorporated into the research group's regular scientific lab meetings led by Prof. Dr. med Lars Zender. The session focused on a recent publication in FEBS Letters: “Golgi enzymes are retrieved from the plasma membrane to the trans-Golgi network” by Dominik P. Buser and Tina Junne, in which the authors studied the translocation of Golgi-resident enzymes between the plasma membrane and the trans-Golgi network (TGN).
The study reconsiders the traditional view of Golgi-resident enzymes as being exclusively retained within the Golgi, providing evidence for a “dynamic trafficking cycle” in which selected enzymes can reach the cell surface and subsequently return to the TGN. Using a nanobody-based transport assay, the authors found that certain Golgi enzymes undergo retrograde transport, whereas classical recycling receptors were internalized without reaching the TGN.
The journal club gave both young and senior researchers in the research group an opportunity to discuss the study's experimental approaches and biological implications. The authors describe their approach as a “nanobody-based Golgi arrival assay”, using sulfation-competent nanobodies as a biochemical proxy for arrival at the TGN. The discussion became a fruitful exchange about the potential use of alpaca-derived nanobodies to target and track the translocation of membrane-associated proteins. This highlighted how the paper's molecular tools and concepts could inspire applications beyond the specific biological system the authors investigated.
Jorge Macedo, the Junior Ambassador of FEBS Letters, introducing FEBS Press, FEBS Letters, FEBS and FEBS Junior Section. Photo credits: personal archive
During the event, the participants were introduced to the FEBS Junior Section and FEBS Press, with a particular focus on FEBS Letters, emphasizing its rapid peer-review process and efficient scientific communication. The presentation also emphasized FEBS as a not-for-profit organization that reinvests its income in science through fellowships, grants, advanced courses, and other initiatives that support researchers and scientific exchange. The journal club generated discussion not only about the paper's specific findings, but also around experimental tools, scientific publishing, and the role learned societies can play in supporting researchers at different career stages.
Through activities such as this journal club, the Junior Ambassador initiative intends to connect scientific discussion with the wider activities of FEBS, while introducing early-career researchers to the resources, opportunities, and community offered by the FEBS Junior Section, and FEBS Press journals.
About FEBS Letters
FEBS Letters is a leading journal for the rapid publication of high-quality research in the molecular biosciences. As a non-profit journal published on behalf of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies, its proceeds directly fund fellowships, travel grants and educational programs for the global scientific community.