This eBook presents a summary of central aspects of sialobiology (i.e., the study of sialic acid and its relevance to biology). The importance of substitution by the sugar sialic acid and the role played by sialylated structures (eg. glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycoconjugates) in immune recognition, neural cell growth, embryogenesis and disease development including microbial pathogenesis and cancer progression, has become well-established. Since 1995, the field of sialobiology has expanded greatly as many of the key enzymes involved in sialic acid biosynthesis, as well as the vast majority of sialic acid binding lectins involved in immune recognition, have only been cloned, characterised and structural eluciated after the publication of earlier works on the subject. This e-book also covers these recent developments. Chapters in this e-book have been contributed by eminent sialobiologists. Therefore, a book of this nature is timely and will prove to be a definitive volume with a high impact in this field for glycobiologists and cell biologists.

Polarity is a physico-chemical property that characterizes the electromagnetic stability of a protein and can be used to predict its plausible pathogenic action. For this reason, polarity is regarded as a major factor in most mathematical-computational algorithms that seek to characterize peptides and proteins. The Polarity Index Method makes it possible to reproduce the main classification of peptide proteins found in different databases, with a high degree of discriminative efficiency. Polarity Index In Proteins is a brief monograph that explains the foundations of the polarity index method and presents examples of the application of this method for identifying the structural and functional relationships of different types of proteins (including cell penetrating peptides and natively unfolded proteins). The monograph is divided into sections that cover basic protein biochemistry, the computational mathematical foundations of the polarity index method, the application of the method on different protein structures, and the evaluation of the results of famous experiments on biogenesis (Miller & Urey, Fox & Harada, Rode) by the same method. Polarity Index In Proteins serves as an essential handbook for students and researchers in the field of bioinformatics, proteomics as well as for studies on the role of proteins in the origin of life.

This e-book provides readers a short introductory MATLAB® course oriented towards various collaborative areas of biotechnology and bioscience. The text concentrates on MATLAB® fundamentals and gives examples of its application for various problems in computational biology, molecular biology, biokinetics, biomedicine, bioinformatics, and biotechnology. MATLAB® is presented with examples and applications to various school-level and advanced life science / bioengineering problems - from growing populations of microorganisms and population dynamics, reaction kinetics and reagent concentrations, predator-prey models, to data fitting and time series analysis. The book is divided into 6 chapters containing material carefully selected and tailored to teaching several groups of biotechnology students. The topics are presented in a manner that allows readers to proceed sequentially on the strength of the preceding material. Primary MATLAB® for Life Sciences: A Guide for Beginners is essentially a concise and comprehensive text that provides an easy grasp and to-the-point access to the MATLAB® tool to the community of life sciences and bioengneering undergraduates and specialists.

Multiple biotic and abiotic environmental factors may constitute stresses that affect plant growth and yield in crop species. Advances in plant physiology, genetics, and molecular biology have greatly improved our understanding of plant responses to stresses. This book details on technologies that have emerged during the past decade and have been useful in studying the multigenicity of the plant abiotic stress response. Upstream molecular mechanisms are involved in the plant response to abiotic stress, above all in the regulation of timings and amount of specific stress responses. Post-transcriptional mechanisms based on alternative splicing and RNA processing, as well as RNA silencing define the actual transcriptome supporting the stress response. Beyond protein phosphorylation, other post-translational modifications like ubiquitination and sumoylation regulate the activation of pre-existing molecules to ensure a prompt response to stress factors. The text in this book deals with the importance of -omics approaches like Genomics, Metabolomics and Proteomics in abiotic stress tolerance. Large scale analytical approaches provide detailed information about the structure and complexity of signaling networks, identify subsets of genes or activities that are correlated to given stress factors and reveal unexpected or previously uncharacterized biochemical interactions. To the best of our knowledge no book on -Omics studies in relation to Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance is available in the market. This book should therefore be a valuable asset for the readers.

Events of reproduction occurring from meiotic resumption of the immature oocyte up to its exit from the second meiotic block following activation will be revealed. Morphological modifications of the oocyte during maturation will be related to signal transduction mechanisms involving primary or secondary messengers. A detailed view will be addressed to genetic and epigenetic control of oocyte maturation. At fertilization, reciprocal gamete activation and novel knowledge related to sperm factor and cascade mechanisms occurring in the oocyte will be focused. A detailed description of ion currents occurring during fertilization will depict another point of view of oocyte activation mechanisms, further supporting for their complexity. Finally, all basic information related to this short time lapse will be considered in relation to clinical application of assisted reproductive technologies. New frontiers, such as stem cells and cloning technologies, will be analyzed and future applications and improvements will be hypothesised.

Brazil has emerged as a significant financial and industrial power in recent times. Brazil is poised to become a significant player in the field of biotechnology, internationally, by taking advantage of circumstances not available in other countries, particularly its native biodiversity. This will, in turn, have an effect on commercial and entrepreneurial opportunities in the region. Topics covered in this text include adjustments that must be made in the regulatory framework to assure the success of business investment. This investment is crucial for training R&D scientists and developing new technologies. The book also covers a debate on transgenic plants which had political ramifications in the region and slowed the adoption rate of genetically modified organisms by almost a decade. The opportunities for commercialization of recombinant DNA technologies in the country are also presented. Opportunities and Limitations For Biotechnology Innovation In Brazil presents a concise overview of the biotechnology industry in Brazil and will be of great interest to a wide range of readers including researchers, biotechnology graduates, as well as both local and international investors.

Rhizobia are composed of specific groups of bacteria that have the ability to induce symbiotic nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots or stems of leguminous plants. Rhizobia have attracted a great attention for more than 4 decades because of their enormous agricultural and economic value in sustainable agriculture. Up to the present time, many legumes have been found to be nodulated by several rhizobial species in diverse taxonomic groups. An assessment of rhizobial diversity provides pivotal information in understanding the horizontal gene transfer among bacterial genera and species, the bacterial evolution and the symbiotic effectiveness. The classification of rhizobia is becoming increasingly complex and is revised periodically because of new findings that propose new genera and new species. Phenotypic and Genotypic Diversity of Rhizobia presents the application of conventional and molecular analyses, including numerical analysis, enzyme patterns, serological studies, plasmid profile, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-fingerprinting, amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), PCR-RFLP and sequence-based methods, to the examination of rhizobial diversity. Principles of these techniques, the resolving power, the advantage and the limitation of these techniques are evaluated. Current taxonomy of rhizobia classifies them into 17 genera and 118 species. The book explains background knowledge about rhizobia and follows this up with a broad perspective on rhizobial diversity, information on characteristics specific to each group of rhizobia, the relationship among rhizobial groups as well as genetic factors contributed to rhizobial diversity. Contemporary methods for examination of rhizobial diversity are also suggested and discussed. Readers of this e-book will find updated information on key concepts in classification and taxonomy of rhizobia, the categories and techniques used to examine the phenotypic and genotypic diversity of rhizobia (including numerical analysis, enzyme patterns, serological study, plasmid profile, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-fingerprinting, amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), PCR-RFLP and sequence analysis).

Plant transformation technology has played a critical role in advancing biotechnology and fundamental research and evolved as a science. This book describes the breakthrough technologies in all aspects of plant transformation in the last 27 years, which have been contributed by the world leading experts in the field. This e-book is one of the first books that covers critical technologies in all aspects of plant transformation to plant biologists and molecular biologists from industrial, academic and governmental organizations. It should greatly benefit postdoctoral associates and graduate and undergraduate students in the plant biology community.

Biofuels are currently used as a viable alternative energy source in several countries. Plant-Based Genetic Tools for Biofuels Production explains biotechnological techniques and concepts that are applied to increase biofuel yield from plants and algae. Chapters of the book cover a variety of topics: the basic research techniques (cell suspension, embryogenesis, protoplast fusion), plant genetics (plant DNA mutations, new plant breeding techniques, viral genetic vectors for heterologous gene expression, sub cellular proteomes), genomic resources and bioinformatics tools, plant species with bioenergy and biofuel potential, factors influencing biomass yield, advances in cultivation technologies, fermentation of different substrates for ethanol production, and microalgae biomass technologies. Readers will gain a thorough understanding of modern biofuel production. Plant-Based Genetic Tools for Biofuels Production is a suitable reference for students in biotechnology and bioinformatics programs as well as researchers interested in information about the basics of biofuel production.