Untangling the double helix : DNA entanglement and the action of the DNA topoisomerases / James C. Wang.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wang, James C.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

DNA topoisomerases--Popular works.

DNA topoisomerases.

DNA Topoisomerases.

Medical Subjects:

DNA Topoisomerases.

Genre:

Popular works.

Physical Description:

xi, 233 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, [2009]

Summary:

The problem of unraveling two intertwined strands during the duplication of DNA was recognized shortly after the proposal of the DNA double-helix structure in 1953. A group of enzymes called DNA topoisomerases solves this problem by breaking and rejoining DNA molecules, allowing strands to be passed through each other and thus be untangled-and not just during DNA replication, but during many other basic cellular processes as well. The critical functions played by topoisomerases and their transient cleavage of intracellular DNA also account for their being the targets for many antibiotics (including Cipro) and anticancer agents.

This book, written by James Wang, the discoverer of the first topoisomerase, presents ten chapters covering the historical backdrop of the DNA entanglement problem and the discovery of the DNA topoisomerases; how DNA topoisomerases perform their magic in DNA replication, transcription, genetic recombination, and chromosome condensation; and how they are targets of therapeutic agents. The book should appeal to readers from undergraduates upward with interests in the cellular transactions of DNA; in the mechanistic, biological, and clinical aspects of topoisomerases; or in the chemical topology of DNA rings.

Contents:

An insuperable problem

Nature's solutions: the DNA topoisomerases

Breaking a DNA strand and holding onto

The broken ends

A magic swivel

Moving one DNA double helix through another

Real-time viewing of the DNA topoisomerases in action

Manifestations of DNA entanglement: replication and recombination

Manifestations of DNA entanglement: gene expression

Beyond DNA untanglement: new twists on an old theme

From nature's battlefields to the clinical wards

Appendix 1: identification of the covalent intermediates in topoisomerase-catalyzed reactions

Appendix 2: catalysis of DNA breakage and rejoining by DNA topoisomerases.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780879698638

0879698632

9780879698799

0879698799

OCLC:

291908056