Symmetry in Molecular Biology
A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemistry: Symmetry/Asymmetry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 36841
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Symmetry is one of the ubiquitous concepts in science, impacting very diverse phenomena, such as the very beginning of the Universe all the way through to the appearance of life on Earth, the laws of its evolution and the ever-inspiring wonders of the molecular machinery of living beings. It sets the stage for everything in the physical world as physics seeks and, with much success, manages to unify all the fundamental forces in super-symmetrical grand unification. This stage is filled with a multitude of players that whirl on it in a myriad of fascinating ways that make up the multiple organizational levels of living cells. The interplay of symmetry and asymmetry seems to be built into life itself, and it appears on all structural levels: From symmetric spherical atoms that join into chiral amino acids, which then join to make asymmetric protein chains that often join into more complex and symmetrical oligomers, which then join into fascinating symmetrical viruses. The timescale of their interconversions can be entirely different, and it might be one of the reasons for controversial comments and conclusions. There is no logical requirement for a preference for any of these two organizations of a living body, and they are the result of evolutionary or developmental adaptation. Symmetry breaking is necessary in many living processes, such as proper orientation of the mitotic spindle in asymmetrical cell division, as a key mechanism in cell differentiation, unidirectional transport through membranes, asymmetric organogenesis (gut, heart and brain), and so on. Newly developed mathematical models allow the elucidation of universal principles in cell polarity studying organization and transport through membranes and shed light on 'dualism' in the life cycle of a living cell.
This Special Issue will be devoted to all aspects of symmetry in the domain of molecular biology. The topics covered will be the following but not limited to:
- Symmetry and asymmetry in structural and functional cellular organization of biomacromolecules;
- Art of biovisualization;
- Symmetry towards asymmetry of life molecules in relation to their biological functions—homochirality of basic constituents;
- Symmetry of viruses
Dr. Biserka Kojic Prodic
Dr. Zoran Štefanić
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Symmetry is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
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