Progress in Molecular and Subcellular Biology / Marine Molecular Biotechnology – serie

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are known to be very rich sources for bioactive compounds, mainly secondary metabolites. Main efforts are devoted to cell- and mariculture of sponges to assure a sustainable exploitation of bioactive compounds from biological starting material. These activities are flanked by improved technologies to cultivate bacteria and fungi which are associated with the sponges. It is the hope that by elucidating the strategies of interaction between microorganisms and their host (sponge), by modern cell and molecular biological methods, a more comprehensive cultivation of the symbiotic organisms will be possible. The next step in the transfer of knowledge to biotechnological applications is the isolation, characterization and structural determination of the bioactive compounds by sophisticated chemical approaches.

This book surveys the current knowledge concerning the expression and function of small stress proteins (sHsps) in different organisms, ranging from prokaryotes to humans. It provides an overview of the diversity and complex evolutionary history of sHsps and describes their function and expression in different eukaryote models. Additional chapters discuss the involvement of sHsps in pathological conditions and gene therapy approaches towards a control of sHsp expression levels.