Glycobiology

The Study of Biological Sugars

The prefix “glyco” is derived from the Greek word “glukus,” which means “sweet.”^[1][2] “Glycobiology” refers to the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of saccharides (sugar chains or glycans) that are widely distributed in nature.”^[3]

Glycobiology attempts to learn about the biological functions of glycans, including glycoproteins, glycolipids, proteoglycans and free oligosaccharides, and on proteins that specifically interact with glycans (including lectins, glycosyltransferases, and glycosidases).

One of the biggest hurdles that glycobiologists face is, the known fact, that monosaccharides bond with each other in many different ways (unlike amino acids of proteins and nucleotides of DNA). This research area becomes exponentially harder when considering that there is no direct template for their biosynthesis (as with proteins and the amino acid sequence determined by their corresponding gene).^[3]

Visit our “Monosaccharides” page to learn more about the eight essential monosaccharides commonly found in the body that are currently being researched in the field of glycobiology.

References:

[1] Answers.com Dictionary. Available at:
http://www.answers.com/topic/glyco.
Accessed July 09, 2009

[2] heartlight’s “Search Gods Words”. Available at:
http://www.searchgodsword.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=1099.
Accessed July 09, 2009

[3] Wikipedia.org. “Glycobiology.” Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycobiology.
Accessed July 09, 2009