Bücher der Reihe Molecular Biology Intelligence Unit

Branching morphogenesis, the creation of branched structures in the body, is a key feature of animal and plant development. Systems considered range from single cells, to blood vessel and drainage duct systems to entire body plans, and approaches range from observation through experiment to detailed biophysical modelling.

Jointly published with Landes Bioscience, Austin, TX, USA

Under the name of programmed cell death (PCD) are included diverse molecular mechanisms of cell suicide which play an essential role in the development of multicellular organisms. The eleven chapters of this book give the reader a comprehensive update of the progress in the understanding of the mechanisms of PCD in protozoa.

Excluding the biological polymers proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, modified tetrapyrroles are the biological molecules that have had the greatest impact on the evolution of life over the past 4 billion years.

This anthology presents critical reviews of methods and high-impact applications in computational biology that lead to results that non-bioinformaticians must also know to design efficient experimental research plans.

The purpose of E-Cell System: Basic Concepts and Applications is to provide a comprehensive guide for the E-Cell System version 3 in terms of the software features and its usage.

Nuclear Import and Export in Plants and Animals provides insight into the remarkable mechanisms of nuclear import and export. In addition, the book covers the special cases of nuclear import of Agrobacterium T-DNA during plant genetic transformation, nuclear import and export of animal viruses, and nuclear intake of foreign DNA.

Nuclear Import and Export in Plants and Animals provides insight into the remarkable mechanisms of nuclear import and export. In addition, the book covers the special cases of nuclear import of Agrobacterium T-DNA during plant genetic transformation, nuclear import and export of animal viruses, and nuclear intake of foreign DNA.

In the early 1980s, a few scientists started working on a Xenopus transcription factor, TFIIIA. They soon discovered a novel domain associated with zinc, and named this domain "e;zinc finger. "e; Th e number of proteins with similar zinc fingers grew quickly and these proteins are now called C2H2, Cys2His2 or classical zinc finger proteins. To date, about 24,000 C2H2 zinc finger proteins have been recognized. Approximately 700 human genes, or more than 2% of the genome, have been estimated to encode C2H2 finger proteins. From the beginning these proteins were thought to be numerous, but no one could have predicted such a huge number. Perhaps thousands of scientists are now working on C2H2 zinc finger proteins fi-om variou s viewpoints. This field is a good example of how a new science begins with the insight of a few scientists and how it develops by efforts of numerous independent scientists, in contrast to a policy-driven scientific project, such as the Human Genome Project, with goals clearly set at its inception and with work performed by a huge collaboration throughout the world. As more zinc finger proteins were discovered, several subfamilies, such as C2C2, CCHC, CCCH, LIM, RING, TAZ, and FYVE emerged, increasing our understanding of zinc fingers. The knowledge was overwhelming. Moreover, scientists began defining the term "e;zinc finger"e; differently and using various names for identical zinc fingers. These complications may explain why no single comprehensive resource of zinc finger proteins was available before this publication.

This book provides up-to-date coverage of selected topics in nucleic acid oxidation. The topics have been selected to cover everything from basic chemical mechanisms, repair of damage and the biological and pathological meaning of DNA oxidation. The chapters are authored by leading, research active, international experts in the respective topics.

oltage-gated calcium channels are essential mediators of a range of physiological functions, including the communication between nerve Vcells, the regulation of heart beat, muscle contraction, and secretion of hormones such as insulin. Consequently, these channels are critical phar- macological targets in the treatment of a variety of disorders, such as epi- lepsy, hypertension, and pain. Voltage-gated calcium channels have there- fore been subject to intense study by numerous investigators over the past few decades, and an immense body of work has accumulated. In this book, we provide the first comprehensive overview of our current state of knowl- edge concerning this exciting field of research. Leading off with a general review of calcium signaling and techniques to measure calcium channel ac- tivity, the book delves into a provocative overview of the history of the cal- cium channel field, contributed by one of the key pioneers in the field. Dr. Richard Tsien. This is followed by an in depth review of the biochemical and molecular biological characterization of calcium channel genes by Drs. Catterall and Snutch whose research has resulted in major advances in the calcium channel field. A number of chapters are dedicated towards various aspects of calcium channel structure and function, including channel gat- ing, permeation, modulation and interactions with members of the exo- totic machinery-contributed by both established leaders and rising stars in the field.

The book focuses on the latest discoveries on calreticulin, calnexin and other endoplasmic reticulum proteins. Calreticulin has been implicated to affect diverse cellular function and play a role in many pathologies including protein folding disorders, cardiac pathologies, cancer and autoimmunity. This book contains contributions from the world leaders in the area of endoplasmic reticulum function, protein folding, Calcium homeostasis and autoimmunity. It raises many intriguing questions about calreticulin, calnexin and the endoplasmic reticulum and gives a unique opportunity to realize the significance of these calcium-binding chaperones. The book is unique in every respect and we are not aware of any other publication focusing on these aspects of endoplasmic reticulum biology. Because of a central role of endoplasmic reticulum, calreticulin and calnexin in virtually all cellular functions, the book should be of interest to everyone in the biological sciences.