Publisher's Synopsis
Up-to-date research on the considerable advances made in the field of RNA and DNA modification is offered by this book. It assesses the developments in the capping and methylation of messenger RNA and examines the structure and function of ribosomal RNA methylation and its relevance to the structure of the ribosome. It features the exciting reports on DNA methylation in fungi and plants, genetic instability in Neurospora and the role of DNA methylation and the control of gene expression. The roles of DNA methylation in differentiation and tumorigenesis are discussed, with special emphasis on its potential in cell memory and the stabilization of transcriptionally incompetent states, particularly as they relate to silencing of the X chromosome.
