Overview
The sugar chains of cells--known collectively as glycans--play a variety of impressive, critical, and often surprising roles in biological systems. Glycobiology is the study of the roles of glycans in the growth and development, function, and survival of an organism. Glyco-related processes, described in vivid detail in the text, have become increasingly significant in many areas of basic research as well as biomedicine and biotechnology. This new edition of Essentials of Glycobiology covers the general principles and describes the structure and biosynthesis, diversity, and function of glycans and their relevance to both normal physiologic processes and human disease. Several new chapters present significant advances that have occurred since the publication of the first edition. Three sections of note describe organismal diversity, advances in our understanding of disease states and related therapeutic applications, and the genomic view of glycobiology. "Glycomics," analogous to genomics and proteomics, is the systematic study of all glycan structures of a given cell type or organism and paves the way for a more thorough understanding of the functions of these ubiquitous molecules. The first edition of Essentials of Glycobiology represented also a notable experiment in publishing, as it became one of the first electronic textbooks. And, now, in recognition of its wide audience and the changing ways in which researchers and students learn and access information, the new edition of Essentials will be made available online simultaneously with the print edition. This novel experiment is the result of the collaborative efforts of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, the National Center for Biotechnology Information, and the editors of the book. Written and edited by glycobiologists with experience in teaching and in research, this volume will be an invaluable resource, both for students and for established investigators in fields such as developmental biology, cell biology, neuroscience, immunology, and biochemistry who require a complete yet concise introduction to this burgeoning field.
Synopsis
Sugar chains (glycans) are often attached to proteins and lipids and have multiple roles in the organization and function of all organisms. They participate in activities as diverse as protein folding, leukocyte physiology, and microbial pathogenesis. Genetic defects in their assembly are at the root of a growing list of human diseases. Essentials of Glycobiology is an ideal gateway to the understanding of glycans, and is the first textbook approach to describing their biogenesis and function. Written and edited by glycobiologists with experience in both teaching and research, this volume will be invaluable for students and established investigators in developmental biology, cell biology, neuroscience, immunology, and biochemistry, who need a complete yet concise introduction to this burgeoning field.
Trends in Cell Biology
This book is aimed at fulfilling a need for an introduction to the field of glycobiology that is both accessible to the outsider but sufficiently comprehensive and detailed to be worth reading by a wide range of scientists. The good news is that, by and large, the authors have succeeded in meeting this aim .It is a 'must-buy' for all medical and biological libraries, as well as for anyone keen to overcome glycophobia and participate in this field as it enters an exciting era of application to biological problems.