Biophysics of Nucleic Acids Celebrating the 75th Birthday of Professor Kenneth J. Breslauer
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry, Biophysics and Computational Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 42582
Special Issue Editors
Interests: physico-chemical properties of proteins and nucleic acids; protein and nucleic acid recognition events; noncanonical nucleic acid structures; thermodynamics; solvation; volumetric properties of biological systems; optical spectroscopy
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue celebrates the seminal contributions of Professor Kenneth J. Breslauer to the field of DNA and RNA biophysics during more than five decades of his service to science, and is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of his birthday. In addition to being one of the most important classes of molecules of life, nucleic acids are an exciting and exceedingly rewarding subject for biophysical research. The polymorphic nature of DNA and RNA, their conformational flexibility, responsiveness to subtle changes in chemical environment, and multiplicity and combinatorial diversity of their recognition sites render these molecules not just a reservoir of genetic information but also important elements of control in a myriad of cellular events. More recently, nucleic acids have increasingly been used as structural building blocks in nanotechnological applications. Notwithstanding the seventy years of intensive research since the discovery of the double helix, DNA continues to remain very much an enigma, making it a fertile ground for biophysical studies. In one particular development, multidisciplinary research into noncanonical DNA and RNA structures has produced an increasing body of evidence underscoring their biological roles and association with disease. A major and still elusive goal of biophysical research is to develop predictive algorithms to evaluate the sequence-specific, interacting partner-specific, and local environment-specific conformational preferences of functionally important domains within the genome and to selectively modulate these preferences in a controlled manner by low-molecular-weight ligands.
This Special Issue plans to publish a wide selection of papers on fundamental physical, chemical, and biological properties of canonical and noncanonical nucleic acid structures; their recognition by ligands, proteins, and other nucleic acids; their role in cellular events; as well as biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications. Particular emphasis will be placed on the evolutionary progress from in vitro studies of intentionally simplified DNA and RNA models in dilute solutions to in vivo studies of extremely intricate nucleic acid complexes in the crowded environment of the cell. Submissions are open to both theoretical and experimental scientists. Contributions can be original research papers, reviews, perspectives, personal reminiscences associated with interactions/associations with Professor Kenneth J. Breslauer, or a hybrid of these formats. Contributions solely containing personal reminiscences will be collected in an extended Editorial.
Prof. Dr. Tigran Chalikian
Dr. Jens Völker
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- DNA and RNA
- noncanonical structures
- thermodynamics and kinetics
- molecular recognition
- biological function and disease
- DNA nanotechnology
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