Regulating with RNA in Bacteria and Archaea

For decades after the discoveries of messenger RNA, transfer RNA, and ribosomal RNA, it was largely assumed that the role of RNA in the cell was limited to shuttling the genomic message, chaperoning amino acids, and toiling in the ribosomes. Eventually, hints that RNA molecules might have regulatory roles began to appear. With the advent of genomics and bioinformatics, it became evident that numerous other RNA forms exist and have specific functions, including small RNAs (sRNA), RNA thermometers, and riboswitches to regulate core metabolic pathways, bacterial pathogenesis, iron homeostasis, quorum sensing, and biofilm formation. It is no longer a fair assumption that gene expression regulation is the provenance of proteins only or that control is exerted primarily at the level of transcription. This book makes clear that regulatory RNAs are key partners along with proteins in controlling the complex interactions and pathways found within prokaryotes. Key selling features: Microbial Genetics and Molecular Biology

About the Author :
Gisela Storz is a microbiologist at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health. Kai Paenfort is Professor for Microbiology (W2, tenure track), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Faculty of Biology I, Munich, Germany.

Review :
Finally! One spectacular volume provides us all we need to educate ourselves in the fascinating world of regulatory RNAs in bacteria and archaea. From the genetics to the biochemistry to the mechanisms to the structures to the physiology to the networks to the challenges for the future—it’s all here—laid out for us in exceptional form by the world’s key experts. This volume is an eye-opening must read about one of microbiology’s most exciting emerging fields. —Bonnie L. Bassler, Ph.D., HHMI Investigator, Squibb Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University