RNA Editing
The term "RNA editing" describes a diverse set of biochemical processes whereby genetic information is modulated on a post-transcriptional level i.e. on the level of ribonucleic acids (RNA). RNA editing has been demonstrated in viruses, protozoan organism
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Series Editor H. J. Gross
H. Ulrich Göringer (Ed.)
RNA Editing
Professor Dr. H. Ulrich Göringer Institute of Microbiology and Genetics Technical University Darmstadt Schnittspahnstr. 10 64287 Darmstadt Germany [email protected]
ISSN 0933-1891 ISBN-13: 978-3-540-73786-5
e-ISBN-13: 978-3-540-73787-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2007932404 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer is a part of Springer Science+Business Media springer.com © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2008 The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Printed on acid-free paper
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Preface
“Editing a book on editing” has a certain “tongue in cheek” connotation to it, and I must admit that I was not aware what the job truly entailed when the project started. However, over the many months that it took to complete the book, it was interesting to realize that indeed “printing-type editing” and “biological editing” have many matching characteristics. Therefore, the quote by the well-known film editor Verna Fields (1918–1982), “I wish the word “editing” had never been invented, “editing” implies correcting, and it’s not”, can function as a motto for the book: the various biological phenomena that are controlled by the different editing reactions are by far more complex than a simple correction process, and it is astounding how multifaceted the field has become. All chapters of the book focus, as a general “editorial” subtext, on the correlation between RNA structure and function, and on complexity. This involves different length scales: from complex molecular machineries, to the interplay of complex biochemical pathways, and to evolutionary processes. The chapters are organized in a sequence beginning with a status quo account of RNA editing reactions from the focused perspective of RNA structure. This is followed by a chapter on the structure/function correlation in tRNA editing, and a chapter on RNA editing by adenosine deaminases that act on RNA (ADARs). A to I editing is perhaps today’s best example for the wide spectrum of biological functions that are impacted by RNA editing. Especially the recently discovered interaction of the ADAR editing pathway with the microRNA/RNAi machinery is an excellent illustration of this. The next chapter summarizes the remarkable progress in t
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