The Nutritional Biochemistry of Chromium(III), Second Edition, reviews the fields of chromium biochemistry and nutrition and how they have dramatically changed in the last decade. Editor John Vincent has lead much of the research that has resulted in new discoveries and reversals of previously held beliefs, such as health concerns surrounding the toxicity of chromium(III). New sections include a review of new evidence showing why chromium may not be an essential element, why national recommendations may need updating, and new data on the use of chromium supplementation in animal feeds. Discussions on the controversial topic of the role of chromium(III) at the molecular level in insulin signaling and information on cell cultures and in vitro assays of chromium toxicity are also covered.

Plant Transcription Factors: Contribution in Development, Metabolism, and Environmental Stress provides comprehensive coverage of plant TFs and their various functions, evaluating their crucial role in growth and development, signaling, stress management and other key plant processes. Sections cover the significance of plant TFs in functional genomics, the influence of phyto-hormones on the modulation of plant TFs, plant development and metabolism, including shoot development, flowering development and alkaloid biosynthesis. The book's final section reviews the role of TFs in various plant stresses, including temperature, water and heavy metal stress. Written by leading experts around the globe, this book is an essential read to researchers interested in plant signaling and plant genomics.

Physicochemical Interactions of Engineered Nanoparticles and Plants: A Systemic Approach, Volume Four in the Nanomaterial-Plant Interactions series, presents foundational information on how ENMs interact with the surrounding environment. Key themes include source, fate and transport of ENMs in the environment, biophysicochemical transformations of ENMs, and chemical reactions and mechanisms of ENMs transport in plants. This book is an essential read for any scientist or researcher looking to understand the molecular interactions between ENMs and Plants. Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) reach plant ecosystems through intentional or unintentional pathways. In any case, after release, these materials may be transformed in the environment by physical, chemical and biochemical processes. Once in contact with plant systems, biotransformation may still occur, affecting or stimulating plant metabolism. Since plants are the producers to the food chain, it is of paramount importance to understand these mechanisms at the molecular level.

Extracellular Matrix and Egg Coats, Volume 130, the latest release in the Current Topics in Developmental Biology series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on The Human Egg's Zona Pellucida, the Structure of Zona Pellucida Module Proteins, The Fish Egg's Zona Pellucidam The Chicken Egg's Zona Pellucidam The Marsupial Egg's Zona Pellucida, the Evolution of Zona Pellucida Proteins, The Mouse Egg's Zona Pellucida, Aspects of ECM, ECM and Morphogenesis, Collagen fibril assembly and function, The Ear's Tectorial Membrane, ECM and Cell Fate, and the Aspects of ECM.

Basic Life Science Methods: A Laboratory Manual for Students and Researchers presents forty of the most executed life science assays. The authors use a consistent structure to cover the preparation, execution and analysis of data from each method. Assays include estimation of cholesterol fractions, C-Reactive Protein, Genomic DNA isolation, Agarose Gel Electrophoresis, RT-PCR, DNA solution preparation, how to design primers, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This book provides a complete reference containing step-by-step instructions on how to run life science assays. Laboratory staff can also benefit of the book as a training resource.

Mechanisms of DNA Recombination and Genome Rearrangements: Intersection between Homologous Recombination, DNA Replication and DNA Repair, Volume 601, the latest release in the Methods in Enzymology series, continues the legacy of this premier serial with quality chapters authored by leaders in the field. Homologous genetic recombination remains the most enigmatic process in DNA metabolism. The molecular machines of recombination preserve the integrity of the genetic material in all organisms and generate genetic diversity in evolution. The same molecular machines that support genetic integrity by orchestrating accurate repair of the most deleterious DNA lesions, however, also promote survival of cancerous cells and emergence of radiation and chemotherapy resistance. This two-volume set offers a comprehensive set of cutting edge methods to study various aspects of homologous recombination and cellular processes that utilize the enzymatic machinery of recombination. The chapters are written by the leading researches and cover a broad range of topics from the basic molecular mechanisms of recombinational proteins and enzymes to emerging cellular techniques and drug discovery efforts.

Biocatalysis in Green Solvents offers a pragmatic overview and instruction in biocatalysis and enzymology of green solvents for sustainable industries and medicine, running from concept to application. Here, international experts in the field discuss structure-function relationships of enzymes in ionic liquids (ILs) and examine how enzymes act as selective catalysts for fine biochemical synthesis in non-aqueous environments. Several integral green biochemical processes of biocatalytic transformation and pure product separation are described in detail. Application focused chapters discuss the role of biocatalysis in creating and implementing deep eutectic solvents, biomass derived solvents, sub and supercritical fluids, carbon dioxide biphasic systems, and enzymatic membrane reactors, as well as applying these biocatalytic processes in drug discovery and production.

Lipids are biomolecules that constitute a significant amount of biomass in the earth, and plant lipids are rapidly growing in interest due to their roles in improving food technology, medicine, nutrition, and biotechnology. With recent advances in protein chemistry, biochemistry, and enzymology promoting research on lipolytic enzymes, it is important for research to address the mechanisms of such enzymes and their diverse functions. Unique Sequence Signatures in Plant Lipolytic Enzymes: Emerging Research and Opportunities provides innovative insights into the biochemistry of plant lipases and phospholipases as well as their structures and catalytic mechanisms. The book explores the conserved domains and motifs of plant lipolytic enzymes by identifying the main residues involved in the catalysis in the enzymes and the phylogeny of important plant lipolytic enzymes, as well as calculating the evolutionary distance in those enzymes. Organized into six chapters, it is a vital reference source for researchers, chemists, biologists, academicians, practitioners, medical professionals, engineers, and graduate students.

This two volume set introduces the up-to-date high-tech applications of Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE) luminogens in biosensing, bioimaging, and biomedicine. The 2nd volume presents the applications of AIE materials in biomedicine, including the utilizations in biomedical polymers, organic nanoprobes, photosensitizer, photothermal agents, AIEgens-based delivery systems, etc. It is an essential reference for materials scientists, chemists, physicists and biological chemists.

Microbial Xylanolytic Enzymes describes the enzyme structure and its interaction with plant cell walls, the properties and production of different enzymes and their applications, and the knowledge gathered on the hydrolysis mechanism of hemicellulose. The knowledge gathered about the hydrolysis mechanism of the hemicelluloses, especially xylans, has greatly promoted the rapid application of these enzymes in new areas. In recent years, there has been a spurt of interest in xylan degrading enzymes due to their applications in several industrial processes, including paper and pulp industries, food and feed industries, biofuel industry, textile industry, chemical and pharmaceutical industry, brewing industry, and more. Xylan is the principal type of hemicellulose. An enzymatic complex is responsible for the hydrolysis of xylan, but the main enzymes involved are enzymes produced by fungi, bacteria, yeast, algae, protozoans, and more.

Nanoarmoring of Enzymes: Rational Design of Polymer-Wrapped Enzymes, Volume 590 is the latest volume in the Methods in Enzymology series that focuses on nanoarmoring of enzymes and the rational design of polymer-wrapped enzymes. This new volume presents the most updated information on a variety of topics, including specific chapters on Encapsulating Proteins in Nanoparticles: Batch by Batch or One by One, Enzyme Adsorption on Nanoparticle Surfaces Probed by Highly Sensitive Second Harmonic Light Scattering, Armoring Enzymes by Metal-Organic Frameworks by the Coprecipitation Method, and Enzyme Armoring by an Organosilica Layer: Synthesis and Characterization of Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Nanobiocatalysts. Users will find this to be an all-encompassing resource on nanoarmoring in enzymes.

Advances in Biomembranes and Lipid Self-Assembly, formerly titled Advances in Planar Lipid Bilayers and Liposomes, provides a global platform for a broad community of experimental and theoretical researchers studying cell membranes, lipid model membranes, and lipid self-assemblies from the micro- to the nanoscale. Planar lipid bilayers are widely studied due to their ubiquity in nature, also finding application in the formulation of biomimetic model membranes. Section topics in this release cover Ras Proteolipid nano-assemblies on the plasma membrane, gold nanomaterials, recent advances in cancer theranostics, and the interactions of flavonoids with lipidic mesophases, amongst other highly resourceful topics. Self-assembled lipid structures have enormous potential as dynamic materials, ranging from artificial lipid membranes, to cell membranes, from biosensing, to controlled drug delivery, and from pharmaceutical formulations, to novel food products, to name a few. This series represents both original research and comprehensive reviews written by world-leading experts and young researchers.

Zinc in Plants: Current Knowledge and Recent Advances addresses zinc hunger, the transport of zinc in the soil-plant interphase, zinc and abiotic stress in plants, and zinc and plant disease. Written by experts in the field, this title is an essential resource to all scientists and students interested in plant physiology, biochemistry and agriculture. During their life, plants encounter various challenges, including their normal development under changing environmental conditions. Zinc (Zn) is an essential component of thousands of proteins in plants, although it is toxic in excess, and is essential for many processes throughout the plant lifecycle.

Molecular Characterization of Autophagic Responses, Part B presents a collection of methods for the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of virtually all the morphological, biochemical, and functional manifestations of autophagy, in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo, in organisms as distant as yeast and man. Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for the lysosomal degradation of superfluous or dangerous cytoplasmic entities, and plays a critical role in the preservation of cellular and organismal homeostasis. Monitoring the biochemical processes that accompany autophagy is fundamental for understanding whether autophagic responses are efficient or dysfunctional.

Marine Enzymes Biotechnology: Production and Industrial Applications, Part III, Application of Marine Enzymes provides a huge treasure trove of information on marine organisms and how they are not only good candidates for enzyme production, but also a rich source of biological molecules that are of potential interest to various industries. Marine enzymes such as amylases, carboxymethylcellulases, proteases, chitinases, keratinases, xylanases, agarases, lipases, peroxidase, and tyrosinases are widely used in the industry for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, foods, beverages, and confectioneries, as well as in textile and leather processing and waste water treatment. The majority of the enzymes used in the industry are of microbial origin because microbial enzymes are relatively more stable than the corresponding enzymes derived from plants and animals.