Hardbound. Volume 8 summarizes the chemistry of various biofunctional molecules and bioactive natural products of both terrestrial and marine origin. In accord with the recent trend of research in this area, ecological significance of bioactive natural products is emphasized throughout the volume. A short introductory chapter describes the progress in this field in general and stresses the importance of chirality in natural products chemistry. Chemistry of plant hormones is treated in depth in Chapter 2, covering the auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, abscisic acid, ethylene, brassinosteroids and jasmonic acid. Chapter 3 on plant chemical ecology includes plant-animal interactions, plant-plant interactions and plant-microbe interactons. Chapter 4 on insect pheromones, kairomones and allomones is structured according to the carbon skeleton of each compound, considering its biogenetic pathways. Chapter 5 describes insect hormones (juvenile hormones, moultin

This work presents a definitive interpretation of the current status of and future trends in natural products—a dynamic field at the intersection of chemistry and biology concerned with isolation, identification, structure elucidation, and chemical characteristics of naturally occurring compounds such as pheromones, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and enzymes. With more than 1,800 color figures, Comprehensive Natural Products II features 100% new material and complements rather than replaces the original work (©1999). Reviews the accumulated efforts of chemical and biological research to understand living organisms and their distinctive effects on health and medicine Stimulates new ideas among the established natural products research community—which includes chemists, biochemists, biologists, botanists, and pharmacologists Informs and inspires students and newcomers to the field with accessible content in a range of delivery formats Includes 100% new content, with more than 6,000 figures (1/3 of these in color) and 40,000 references to the primary literature, for a thorough examination of the field Highlights new research and innovations concerning living organisms and their distinctive role in our understanding and improvement of human health, genomics, ecology/environment, and more Adds to the rich body of work that is the first edition, which will be available for the first time in a convenient online format giving researchers complete access to authoritative Natural Products content

Comprehensive Natural Products Chemistry

Hardbound. This volume is intended to cover the chemistry of one of the most widely studied and important natural products, DNA. Discussed in detail are physicochemical properties of the molecule itself as well as small-molecule natural products that are known to interact with it. Also included are methods to synthesize and manipulate DNA and modified analogues. Twenty chapters are devoted to this overall topic.The first five relate to the structure of DNA; the first focuses on thermodynamics and kinetics of double helix formation; the next two describe triple- and tetra- helical structures formed by DNA; and the last two focus on methods for probing DNA structure (specifically, NMR methods and chemical probing methods, respectively).Chapters 6-12 focus on the chemistry of natural DNA and modified analogues. The first of these addresses nonenzymatic methods for synthesizing DNA, and the next chapter, on methods for attachment of reporter groups t

Hardbound. This volume describes the dramatic advances in studies of the structure and function of enzymes which have led to an understanding of the rich chemistry used by nature to construct molecules and how the enzymes of natural products biosynthesis catalyze these reactions. Natural products are synthesized from simple precursors through a series of enzyme mediated reactions that are exquisitely selective and efficient. Questions about the mechanisms of these reactions and what features of enzyme catalytic sites are important for stabilizing transition states and reactive intermediates have been addressed by combining studies in mechanistic organic chemistry, structural biology, and molecular genetics. Except in rare instances, the enzymes of natural products biosynthesis are not found in abundance, and as a consequence, they are not readily available for study from natural sources. This situation has changed through the dramatic advances in gen

Hardbound. This 19-chapter volume summarizes the current status of our understanding of RNA, with particular emphasis on the chemistry of this key biological molecule. The various RNAs covered are messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, transfer RNA and RNA enzymes (ribozymes). The different chapters detail biophysical and chemical methods to investigate RNA structure and function, the synthesis of native and modified RNAs and several chapters reviewing the latest advances in our understanding of the vast array of biological processes in which RNA is involved.The first five chapters deal with different approaches available to study RNA structure, covering NMR solution studies of secondary structure, thermodynamics, X-ray crystallographic approaches, RNA dynamics and the role of RNA structures in RNA: protein interactions.Three chapters are focused on RNA chemistry covering chemical and enzymatic probes for RNA, chemical RNA synthesis and the chemist

Hardbound. This volume covers the dramatic advances which have been made in the lasttwo decades in the understanding of isoprenoid biosynthesis at thechemical, biochemical, and molecular genetic level. Tens of thousands ofisoprenoid metabolites - from pinenes to cholesterol, from ubiquinone tocarotene, from phytols to prenylated proteins, from dolichols togibberellins - have been isolated from essentially all forms of life, including prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and archaebacteria: from Escherichiacoli to mammals, from extremophiles and fungi to marine and terrestrialplants. All of these isoprenoids can be derived from a single, five-carbonacyclic precursor, isopentenyl diphosphate. Early chapters in this Volumedetail the key findings that have led to an understanding of the metabolicpathways leading to isopentenyl diphosphate, including both the classicalroute involving mevalonic acid as well as the recently discoveredpyruvate-triose phosphat