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

Comprehensive Natural Products Chemistry

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

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 volume, containing 20 chapters, focuses on the biosynthesis of the different classes of carbohydrates and their derivatives. The first part of this volume concentrates on the three classes of glycan-bearing molecules that mediate bio-recognition events, namely, glycoproteins, glycolipids, and glycosaminoglycans. Thus, the first four chapters highlight the key role played by glycosidases and glycosyl transferases in the processing of glycan chains in glycoproteins and on inhibitors of the glycosidases. The next two chapters feature the biosynthesis of glycosphingolipids, sphingolipid transport and degradation, and the regulation of glycolipid biosynthesis in developing tissues and tumor cells. Chapter 7 is devoted to the biosynthesis of proteoglycans with particular emphasis on the glycosaminoglycans. In the second part, the volume treats the molecules of importance in protozoans and bacteria. Thus, chapter 8 describes the biosynthesis o