Bøger i Progress in Molecular and Subcellular Biology serien

The survival of the human species has improved significantly in modern times. During the last century, the mean survival of human populations in developed countries has increased more than during the preceding 5000 years.

Among all cellular RNA species of the three main types, ribosomal RNA, transfer RNA or messenger RNA, be they from prokaryotic or eukaryotic organisms, the prokaryotic mRNA is unique in that it has no precursor and is synthesized in the same mature form as it is translated into proteins.

The new receptor era of mammalian endocrinology stimulated research on invertebrate hormone receptors, and sophisticated methods are applied also to determine hormones. About two decades ago, first observations on the presence of hormone receptors reacting to vertebrate hormones in protozoa were made.

Apoptosis plays a central role in the regulation of cell proliferation. Disruption of this control mechanism may cause serious human diseases such as encephalomyelitis and cancer. Thus, understanding of the molecular mechanisms of apoptotic cell death should lead to fundamental advances in the therapy of these diseases.

The biological bases of invertebrate immune responses have interested scientists for decades, from the first relevant observation by E.

This volume concentrates on the origin of multicellular animals, Metazoa. Based on sequence data of genes typical for multicellularity it is demonstrated that all Metazoa, including Porifera, should be placed into the kingdom Animalia together with the Eumetazoa. Therefore it is most likely that all animals are of monophyletic origin.

Aspects such as the protein-ligand relationship, recognition, protein evolution by point mutation, enzyme-substrate interactions, behaviour of an enzyme in a living cell, control and dynamics of enzyme networks as well as the physico-chemical background of enzyme actions and multi-enzyme complexes are comprehensively treated in this volume.

Biological response modifiers are increasingly used in viral and cancer therapy. Since alterations of the immune system are the primary symptoms of HIV infection, especially therapies directed towards the modulation of the immune response have been under intense evaluation.

Inorganic polyphosphates - polymers of orthophosphate linked by high-energy phosphoanhydride bonds - have been found in apparently all forms of life, from bacteria, yeasts and fungi to higher plants and animals. In addition, the methods to study these polymers as well as the biotechnological applications of inorganic polyphosphates are described.

The latest information on topics including molecular taxonomy and phylogeny, ecology of fungi in different marine habitats such as deep sea, corals, dead- sea, fungi in extreme marine environments and their biotechnological applications is reviewed.

The articles in the present volume are by major contributors to our under standing of signaling pathways affecting protein synthesis. Since amino acids serve as precursors for proteins, one might expect that with holding an essential amino acid would inhibit the elongation phase.

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are known to be very rich sources for bioactive compounds, mainly secondary metabolites. Main efforts are devoted to cell- and mariculture of sponges to assure a sustainable exploitation of bioactive compounds from biological starting material.

The volume is intended for biologists, biochemists and molecular biologists, involved in the understanding of structure formation in living organisms and will also be very useful for scientists working in the field of applied Nanotechnology and Nanobiotechnology.

The volume is intended for biologists, biochemists and molecular biologists, involved in the understanding of structure formation in living organisms and will also be very useful for scientists working in the field of applied Nanotechnology and Nanobiotechnology.

Based on the assumption that invertebrates as well as vertebrates possess factors regulating hematopoiesis, response to infection or wounding, studies dealing with the evolution of immunity have focused on the isolation and characterization of putative cytokine-related molecules from invertebrates.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), tentatively defined as ncRNAs of more than two hundred nucleotides in length, are characterized by the complexity and diversity of their sequences and mechanisms of action.

This book is dedicated to understanding how miRNAs affect translation. It includes chapters representing work in plants and Caenorhabditis elegans, the biological systems that originally led to the discovery of small interfering RNAs.

Successful aestivation requires the selection of a proper microhabitat, variable degrees of metabolic arrest and responsiveness to external stimuli, the ability to sense the proper time of year for emergence, the preservation of inactive tissue, and much more.

The discovery in 1977 that genes are split into exons and introns has done away with the one gene - one protein dogma. Attempts to make a global assessment of the use of alternative splicing are recent and rely essentially on the comparison of genomic mRNA and EST sequences as reviewed by Thanaraj and Stamm in the first chapter of this volume.

Using different viral models, molecular pathways regulated by viral genes and their role in the pathogenesis of infection are analyzed. Special emphasis is given to molecular pathways underlying viral transformation and oncogenesis and how research in this area is opening opportunities in cancer therapy.