Main description:

“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 ? lm 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 ? eld has become. All chapters of the book focus, as a general “editorial” subtext, on the corre- tion between RNA structure and function, and on complexity. This involves diff- ent 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).

Feature:

First book to dedicate one chapter each to each of the main types of RNA editing

Special focus on correlation between RNA structure and RNA function

Written by experts in the field

Back cover:

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 organisms, in plants and in mammals and in many cases it has been identified as a key step in the regulation of gene expression. This book dedicates a chapter to each of the main types of RNA editing. All sections are written by experts in the various research areas and a specific focus is put on the correlation between RNA structure and function, as well as on the complex cellular machineries that catalyze the different editing reactions. This leads to a "state of the art" compendium of our current knowledge on RNA editing.

Contents:

Editing Reactions from the Perspective of RNA Structure.- Editing of tRNA for Structure and Function.- RNA Editing by Adenosine Deaminases that Act on RNA (ADARs).- Insertion/Deletion Editing in Physarum polycephalum.- RNA Editing in Plant Mitochondria.- RNA Editing in Chloroplasts.- Working Together: the RNA Editing Machinery in Trypanosoma brucei.- RNA Editing Accessory Factors — the Example of mHel61p.- The Function of RNA Editing in Trypanosomes.- Evolutionary Aspects of RNA Editing.