Provides a synthesis of our current understanding of hemoglobin (Hb) function and evolution, and illustrates how research on this protein has provided more general insights into mechanisms of protein evolution and biochemical adaptation.

New insights into the evolution and nature of proteins Exploring several distinct approaches, this book describes the methods for comparing protein sequences and protein structures in order to identify homologous relationships and classify proteins and protein domains into evolutionary families. Readers will discover the common features as well as the key philosophical differences underlying the major protein classification systems, including Pfam, Panther, SCOP, and CATH. Moreover, they'll discover how these systems can be used to understand the evolution of protein families as well as understand and predict the degree to which structural and functional information are shared between relatives in a protein family. Edited and authored by leading international experts, Protein Families offers new insights into protein families that are important to medical research as well as protein families that help us understand biological systems and key biological processes such as cell signaling and the immune response. The book is divided into three sections: Section I: Concepts Underlying Protein Family Classification reviews the major strategies for identifying homologous proteins and classifying them into families. Section II: In-Depth Reviews of Protein Families focuses on some fascinating super protein families for which we have substantial amounts of sequence, structural and functional data, making it possible to trace the emergence of functionally diverse relatives. Section III: Review of Protein Families in Important Biological Systems examines protein families associated with a particular biological theme, such as the cytoskeleton. All chapters are extensively illustrated, including depictions of evolutionary relationships. References at the end of each chapter guide readers to original research papers and reviews in the field. Covering protein family classification systems alongside detailed descriptions of select protein families, this book offers biochemists, molecular biologists, protein scientists, structural biologists, and bioinformaticians new insight into the evolution and nature of proteins.

Proteins: Structure and Function is a comprehensive introduction to the study of proteins and their importance to modern biochemistry. Each chapter addresses the structure and function of proteins with a definitive theme designed to enhance student understanding. Opening with a brief historical overview of the subject the book moves on to discuss the ‘building blocks’ of proteins and their respective chemical and physical properties. Later chapters explore experimental and computational methods of comparing proteins, methods of protein purification and protein folding and stability. The latest developments in the field are included and key concepts introduced in a user-friendly way to ensure that students are able to grasp the essentials before moving on to more advanced study and analysis of proteins. An invaluable resource for students of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Medicine and Chemistry providing a modern approach to the subject of Proteins.

This book provides an up-to-date summary of the principles of protein evolution and discusses both the methods available to analyze the evolutionary history of proteins as well as those for predicting their structure-function relationships. Includes a significantly expanded chapter on genome evolution to cover genomes of model organisms sequenced since the completion of the first edition, and organelle genome evolution Retains its reader-friendly, accessible style and organization Contains an updated glossary and new references, including a list of online reference sites

Sequence - Evolution - Function is an introduction to the computational approaches that play a critical role in the emerging new branch of biology known as functional genomics. The book provides the reader with an understanding of the principles and approaches of functional genomics and of the potential and limitations of computational and experimental approaches to genome analysis. Sequence - Evolution - Function should help bridge the "digital divide" between biologists and computer scientists, allowing biologists to better grasp the peculiarities of the emerging field of Genome Biology and to learn how to benefit from the enormous amount of sequence data available in the public databases. The book is non-technical with respect to the computer methods for genome analysis and discusses these methods from the user's viewpoint, without addressing mathematical and algorithmic details. Prior practical familiarity with the basic methods for sequence analysis is a major advantage, but a reader without such experience will be able to use the book as an introduction to these methods. This book is perfect for introductory level courses in computational methods for comparative and functional genomics.

Each title in the 'Primers in Biology' series is constructed on a modular principle that is intended to make them easy to teach from, to learn from, and to use for reference.

In Gene Sharing and Evolution Piatigorsky explores the generality and implications of gene sharing throughout evolution and argues that most if not all proteins perform a variety of functions in the same and in different species, and that this is a fundamental necessity for evolution.

This book provides a comprehensive coverage of the basic principles of structural biology, as well as an up-to-date summary of some main directions of research in the field. The relationship between structure and function is described in detail for soluble proteins, membrane proteins, membranes, and nucleic acids.There are several books covering protein structure and function, but none that give a complete picture, including nucleic acids, lipids, membranes and carbohydrates, all being of central importance in structural biology.The book covers state-of-the-art research in various areas. It is unique for its breadth of coverage by experts in the fields. The book is richly illustrated with more than 400 color figures to highlight the wide range of structures.

This volume presents a diverse collection of methodologies used to study various problems at the protein sequence and structure level. The chapters in this book look at issues ranging from broad concepts like protein space to specifics like antibody modeling. Topics include point mutations, gene duplication, de novo emergence of new genes, pairwise correlated mutations, ancestral protein reconstruction, homology modelling, protein stability and dynamics, and protein-protein interactions. The book also covers a wide range of computational approaches, including sequence and structure alignments, phylogenies, physics-based and mathematical approaches, machine learning, and more. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and prerequisites, step-by-step, readily reproducible computational protocols (using command line or graphical user interfaces, sometimes including computer code), and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and authoritative, Computational Methods in Protein Evolution is a valuable resource that offers useful workflows and techniques that will help both novice and expert researchers working with proteins computationally.