19th European Bioenergetics Conference--Preface

The European Bioenergetics Conference (EBEC) is a biannual series that began in Urbino (Italy) in 1980. A major event in International Bioenergetics, the Conference covers key aspects of Bioenergetics and its implications for Cell Physiology and Pathology. The 2016 Conference of Riva del Garda (Italy) is the 19th of the series. The Biochimica et Biophysica Acta--Bioenergetics Special Issue on EBEC features articles from invited lectures and all the accepted abstracts. The current Issue hosts 34 full articles, which represent about half of the invited talks. Given the limited time frame for submission this is a remarkable result, and I would like to express my gratitude to all contributors and referees, who accepted to work under considerable time pressure. I am very pleased with the scope and quality of the published articles as well as with that of the posters--a key part of the Conference--whose abstracts can be found in the appropriate Section of the Issue. This years' more than 300 posters covered Biogenesis, structure and dynamics of energy-conserving organelles (Section 1), Bioenergetics and pathophysiology of muscle (Section 2), Electron transfer complexes (Section 3), Coenzyme Q in physiology and pathology (Section 4), F- and V-ATPases (Section 5), Channels, transporters and import systems (Section 6), Ca2+, hypoxia and reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (Section 7), Bacterial bioenergetics (Section 8), Mitochondria and metabolic diseases (Section 9), Mitochondria and degenerative diseases (Section 10), Mitochondria and cancer (Section 11), Bioenergetics targets for disease therapy (Section 12) and Novel approaches to bioenergetics (Section 13).