Transforming Glycoscience A Roadmap for the Future (2012) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 13-28
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From page 13... ...
They are the foundation of all life on Earth. The most important biochemical process on Earth is photosynthesis -- plants, algae, and other similar organisms using the energy in sunlight to combine carbon dioxide and water to make sugars.
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From page 14... ...
Glycans are one of the four major classes of macromolecules -- nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids being the other three -- that are essential for life and are involved in every aspect of biology, medicine, and a number of practical applications. These other three classes often incorporate or rely on glycans for their activity-nucleic acids contain the carbohydrates ribose or deoxyribose, whereas proteins and lipids often require appended glycans for activity (glycoproteins and glycolipids, respectively)
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From page 15... ...
5. Nitrogen fixation in plants depends on carbohydrate signaling between bacteria and plant roots.
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From page 16... ...
edge results from two factors: (1) the remarkable structural complexity of glycans found on cell surfaces and (2)
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From page 17... ...
The possibility of modifying the surface glycans on red blood cells to avoid ABO incompatibilities is also being explored (Olsson and Clausen 2008; Liu et al.
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From page 18... ...
In addition, the diversity of glycan structures makes full characterization of the cell surface glycome (i.e., the totality of glycans with which a cell is coated) an incredible challenge, one beyond HO A B C H O N O HO O HO O O O OH OH HO OH HO O O HO O OH HO HN OH HO O FIGURE 1-2 Comparison of nucleic acids, proteins, and glycans.
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From page 19... ...
. These walls have a generalized global structure, with cellulose embedded in a matrix of other molecules, although the fine details of wall structure differ across plant species, across different plant tissues and organs, and indeed across walls in single cells.
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Before the development of chemical fertilizers, all nitrogen fixation occurred biologically through the action of bacteria capable of undertaking these reactions. Biological nitrogen fixation remains a significant source of bioavailable nitrogen.
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From page 21... ...
1.2 GENES AND PROTEINS ARE NOT ENOUGH: THE RICH INFORMATION CONTENT OF GLYCANS The current view of information flow in biological systems starts with the nucleic acid genome, which codes for proteins that function as parts of networks and whose own roles are still being actively studied. After proteins have been assembled, they are nearly always modified -- a process generically called posttranslational modification.
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From page 22... ...
At that time there was enough of an understanding of genetics to know that a concerted effort to sequence the human genome would lead to both fundamental advances in our understanding of genetics and practical applications that would benefit all fields of science. When this enormous effort began in the 1990s, many scientists questioned if it was even feasible to sequence the 3 billion bases in a human genome.
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From page 23... ...
It will not be possible to take full advantage of the revolution in genomics and realize the full potential of the Human Genome Project unless close attention is given to glycomics and how cells make and use the myriad complex glycans that decorate their surfaces. At the same time, advances in genomics resulting from the Human Genome Project provide a major opportunity to understand how mutations alter glycan pathways with functional consequences.
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From page 24... ...
Discoveries in the biological pathways by which plant cell walls are synthesized and deconstructed are similarly providing a compelling base from which to further advance the applications of glycoscience to these fields. Just as studies of nucleic acids and proteins rely on a suite of tools that allow a broad range of researchers to effectively investigate these molecules, so too does glycoscience rely on its own toolkit.
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From page 25... ...
In order to realize the potential of glycoscience and glycomics to build on genomics and proteomics and forge major new roads of discovery, the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences will convene an ad hoc committee to: · C onduct an in-depth analysis of the current state of research in glycoscience and glycomics in the U.S.; · Compare current U.S. and international research efforts in glycoscience; · Discuss key challenges to the growth and development of the field of glycosci ence and glycomics; · Develop a roadmap with concrete research goals to significantly advance gly coscience and glycomics in the U.S., including the identification of metrics that may be used to help assess efforts to achieve these goals and objectives; and · Articulate a unified vision for the field of glycoscience and glycomics.
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From page 26... ...
In Chapter 3 the committee discusses how glycoscience is embedded in the key areas of health, energy, and materials science -- areas that help illustrate the breadth and impact of glycoscience as a discipline. In Chapter 4 the committee poses a set of scientific questions and opportunities designed to illustrate more concretely how new glycoscience knowledge would contribute to answering relevant scientific questions in these fields.
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From page 27... ...
The committee's assessment of this toolkit and of the needs and gaps remaining to advance the field is encapsulated in the report's concluding chapter, which lays out a glycoscience roadmap and research goals. Appendixes to the report contain committee member biographies (Appendix A)
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