Ribozymes

Provides comprehensive coverage of a core field in the molecular biosciences, bringing together decades of knowledge from the world's top professionals in the field

Timely and unique in its breadth of content, this all-encompassing and authoritative reference on ribozymes documents the great diversity of nucleic acid-based catalysis. It integrates the knowledge gained over the past 35 years in the field and features contributions from virtually every leading expert on the subject.

Ribozymes is organized into six major parts. It starts by describing general principles and strategies of nucleic acid catalysis. It then introduces naturally occurring ribozymes and includes the search for new catalytic motifs or novel genomic locations of known motifs. Next, it covers the development and design of engineered ribozymes, before moving on to DNAzymes as a close relative of ribozymes. The next part examines the use of ribozymes for medicinal and environmental diagnostics, as well as for therapeutic tools. It finishes with a look at the tools and methods in ribozyme research, including the techniques and assays for structural and functional characterization of nucleic acid catalysts.

• The first reference to tie together all aspects of the multi-faceted field of ribozymes
• Features more than 30 comprehensive chapters in two volumes
• Covers the chemical principles of RNA catalysis; naturally occurring ribozymes, engineered ribozymes; DNAzymes; ribozymes as tools in diagnostics and therapy, and tools and methods to study ribozymes
• Includes first-hand accounts of concepts, techniques, and applications by a team of top international experts from leading academic institutions
• Dedicates half of its content to methods and practical applications, ranging from bioanalytical tools to medical diagnostics to therapeutics

Ribozymes is an unmatched resource for all biochemists, biotechnologists, molecular biologists, and bioengineers interested in the topic.
About the Author:

Sabine Müller is Full Professor for Biochemistry/Bioorganic Chemistry at University Greifswald (Germany), and is a member of the Leibniz-Sozietät der Wissenschaften zu Berlin and of AcademiaNet. She has been working in the field of RNA engineering and has made important contributions to ribozyme research.

Benoît Masquida is a Research Director at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and carries on research and teaching activities at the University of Strasbourg (France). He made important contributions in the field of RNA structural biology, notably through identification of new RNA folds and their evolutionary relationships.

Wade Winkler is Professor of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Maryland (USA), and has authored multiple influential publications on the different types of regulatory RNAs in bacteria.