BookTakeharu Nagai, Yuichi Togashi, editors.
Summary: This book provides an accessible introduction to an exciting new field of life science in which the focus is on small numbers of molecules and minorities within cell populations and their significance for the understanding of biological phenomena. Numbers, or quantitative data, are attracting more attention in cell biology following, for example, determination of the absolute copy number of each protein species in each bacterial cell and the recognition of leader cells that drive collective cell migration. Within this context, the authors present recent advances in experimental techniques, biological findings, and theories. A variety of cutting-edge topics and issues are addressed, with explanation of the ways in which recent developments in the field cast light on seemingly straightforward but difficult-to-answer questions. Readers will learn that we are on the verge of a paradigm shift as the importance of cooperation among groups of molecules in live cells is acknowledged. The book is designed to be enjoyable to read and easy to understand. It will be of interest for a wide range of readers, including young researchers and undergraduate/high school students.
Contents:
Intro; Preface; Contents; Contributors; A Look at Functions That Emerge from Small Numbers; Neuronal Synaptic Connections Organized by Small Numbers of Molecules; Cajal Meets a Present-Day Neuroscientist (The Following Is Fiction); Observation of Synapses with Electron Microscopy and Proof of the Neuron Theory; Proteins in the Synapse; Only a Small Number of Molecules Are Localized in the Synapse; References; Invasions of Small Numbers: How Many Virus Particles Does It Take to Infect Someone with the Flu?; Reference; Rebellion by the Minority: Prophecies by Molecules on Paper and Computers A Simple QuestionDo Minorities Change Big Groups?; Small Numbers of Molecules, Cells, Individuals ... ; References; The Personality of Small Numbers: Do Molecules Have Personality?; What Is Personality?; Do Molecules Have Personalities?; Molecular Personalities Inside Cells; References; Distinguishing and Searching for Minority Cells: Small in Number, But Large in Effect; References; Digital Bioanalysis; What Is Digitalization?; Smaller Is Better; What Is That Good for?; How Small Numbers of Long Genomic DNA Are Stored in Cells; References Formation by Small Numbers: Minority Biological Scenarios in Correlations Among the Structure, Dynamics, and Function of Nuclear ChromosomesScenarios of the Structural Formation of Nuclear Chromosomes; The World Where Molecular Minority Shows Itself; Recognition of Homologous Nuclear Chromosomes; Searching for the Wellspring; References; Dividing Small Numbers: The Discreteness and Distribution of Molecules in the Cell Membrane; The Physical Properties of Cells; Artificial Cells (Cell Models); How Osmotic Pressure Is Generated; The Shapes of Macromolecules; Deformation of the Membrane Single Molecularity of GenomeReferences; Getting to Know the Functions of Small Numbers; How Do Muscles Contract?; Is There a Mechanism That Makes Muscles Contract Efficiently?; Working in Small Numbers: The Behaviors That Emerge When Small Numbers of Bionanomachines Team Up; The World in Which Bionanomachines Work: Is It Crowded?; Do Bionanomachines Have a Brain?; Behaviors Born Out of Teamwork; References; Thinking Small Numbers: When, Where, and How Many Molecules There Are in the Cell; The Cell: A Multipurpose Factory Facility; Production Strategies in an Industrial Group The Lineup of Products and Numbers of UnitsThe Effects of "Fickleness"; Determining Small Numbers: How the Number of Flagella Is Determined; The Formation of Cellular Apparatuses and the Importance of Their Numbers; Flagella: The Motility Apparatuses of Bacterial Cells and the Control of Their Numbers; Mutants with Abnormal Flagellar Motors; FlhF and FlhG Regulate the Number of Flagella; In Conclusion; References; Controlling Production with Small Numbers: Precision Apparatuses Made of Proteins at Work in Bacteria; Bacterial Flagella; The Flagellum Grows at the Tip