Glycobiology

Defined in the narrowest sense, glycobiology is the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of saccharides (sugar chains or glycans) that are widely distributed in nature. Sugars or saccharides are essential components of all living things and aspects of the various roles they play in biology are researched in various medical, biochemical and biotechnological fields.

History

According to Oxford English Dictionary the specific term glycobiology was coined in 1988 by Prof. Raymond Dwek to recognize the coming together of the traditional disciplines of carbohydrate chemistry and biochemistry. This coming together was as a result of a much greater understanding of the cellular and molecular biology of glycans. However as early as the late nineteenth century pioneering efforts were being made by Emil Fisher to establish the structure of some basic sugar molecules.

Glycoconjugates

Sugars may be linked to other types of biological molecule to form glycoconjugates. The enzymatic process of glycosylation creates sugars/saccharides linked to themselves and to other molecules by the glycosidic bond, thereby producing glycans. Glycoproteins, proteoglycans and glycolipids are the most abundant glycoconjugates found in mammalian cells. They are found predominantly on the outer cell wall and in secreted fluids. Glycoconjugates have been shown to be important in cell-cell interactions due to the presence on the cell surface of various glycan binding receptors in addition to the glycoconjugates themselves. In addition to their function in protein folding and cellular attachment, the N-liked glycans of a protein can modulate the protein's function, in some cases acting as an on-off switch.

Glycobiology (journal)

Glycobiology is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of the field of glycobiology and the official journal of the Society for Glycobiology. The journal was established in September 1990. It publishes primary research on the "biological functions of glycans, including glycoproteins, glycolipids, proteoglycans and free oligosaccharides, and on proteins that specifically interact with glycans."

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is indexed in Index Medicus/PubMed/MEDLINE, Index Veterinarius, CAB Abstracts, Biological Abstracts, BIOSIS Previews, Current Contents/Life Sciences, ProQuest, Science Citation Index, and others. According to the Journal Citation Reports, its 2009 impact factor is 3.929, ranking it 78th out of 283 journals in the category "Biochemistry & Molecular Biology".

References

External links