This book is the first to be dedicated to the bioinformatics of carbohydrates and glycoproteins. It provides an introduction to this emerging field of science both for the experimentalist working in glycobiology and glycomics, and also for the computer scientist looking for background information for the development of highly sophisticated algorithmic approaches.

The book provides an overview of the state-of-the-art in the field, with reviews on databases, and the tools in use for analysis, interpretation, and prediction of the structures of complex carbohydrates, and demonstrates the value of bioinformatics for glycobiology.

Key features:
Describes bioinformatic approaches to handle carbohydrate-active enzymes and glycosylation.
Provides an overview on bioinformatics tools that facilitate analysis of carbohydrate structures.
Gives introduction into molecular modelling of carbohydrate 3D structure and carbohydrates contained in the Protein Databank.
Assumes only a basic knowledge of biology and bioinformatics.

Contents
List of Contributors
Preface
Section 1: Introduction
1. Glycobiology, Glycomics and (Bio)Informatics
Section 2: Carbohydrate Structures
2. Introduction to Carbohydrate Structure and Diversity
3. Digital Representations of Oligo- and Polysaccharides
4. Evolutionary Considerations in Studying the Sialome: Sialic Acids and the Host - Pathogen Interface
Section 3: Carbohydrate-active Enzymes and Glycosylation
5. Carbohydrate-active Enzymes Database: Principles and Classification of Glycosyltransferases
6. Other Databases Providing Glycoenzyme Data
7. Bioinformatics Analysis of Glycan Structures from a Genomic Perspective
8. Glycosylation of Proteins
9. Prediction of Glycosylation Sites in Proteins
Section 4: Experimental Methods - Bioinformatic Requirements
10. Experimental Methods for the Analysis of Glycans and Their Bioinformatics Requirements
11. Analysis of N- and O-Glycans of Glycoproteins by HPLC Technology
12. Glycomic Mass Spectrometric Analysis and Data Interpretation Tools
13. Software Tools for Semi-automatic Interpretation of Mass Spectra of Glycans
14. Informatics Concepts to Decode Structure-Function Relationships of Glycosaminoglycans
15. NMR Databases and Tools for Automatic Interpretation of Spectra of Carbohydrates
16. Automatic Spectrum Interpretation Based on Increment Rules: CASPER
17. Interpretation of 13C NMR Spectra by Artificial Neural Network Techniques (NeuroCarb)
Section 5: 3D Structures of Complex Carbohydrates
18. Conformational Analysis of Carbohydrates - A Historical Overview
19. Predicting Carbohydrate 3D Structures Using Theoretical Methods
20. Synergy of Computational and Experimental Methods in Carbohydrate 3D Structure Determination and Validation
Section 6: Protein - Carbohydrate Interaction
21. Structural Features of Lectins and Their Binding Sites
22. Statistical Analysis of Protein - Carbohydrate Complexes Contained in the PDB
Section 7: Appendices
Appendix 1: List of Available Websites
Appendix 2: Glossary
Index
Color Plates

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