In this issue: Biotechnology Journal 3/2009

Acetylated sialic acids as biomarkers of childhood leukemia Mandal & Chowdhury , Biotechnol. J. 2009, 4, 361–374 Changes in protein glycosylation are a hallmark of many diseases. In this review, scientists from Kolkata give an overview of their research about increased 9‐ O ‐acetylated sialic acid (9,5‐NeuAc) occurrence in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Mandal & Chowdhury report the isolation and purification of the Achatinin‐H lectin which specifically binds to 9,5‐NeuAc and agglutinates leukemic lymphoblasts stronger than normal cells. Cell cytometry analyses with fluorescent Achatinin‐H show that 9,5‐NeuAc is strongly expressed on ALL leukocytes whereas it is absent on normal and other leukemic cells. Also, the amount of lymphoblastic glycoproteins carrying 9,5‐NeuAc is increased on ALL compared to normal cells. Thus, 9,5‐NeuAc is a promising ALL biomarker candidate, and acetyltransferase inhibitors may even be applied to block generation of 9,5‐NeuAc‐carrying glycoproteins and ALL development. Modulating histone acetylation – a new avenue for disease treatment? Selvi & Kundu , Biotechnol. J. 2009, 4, 375–390 Chromatin, made up from nucleic acids, histones and nonhistone proteins, is the building block of the eukaryotic genome. Changes in chromatin structure regulate numerous cellular processes, and chromatin dynamicity derives from chromatinmodifying enzymes such as histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs) which play a central role in the highly orchestrated network of chromatin modifications. Selvi and Kundu from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore describe how the dysfunction of the HATs and HDACs accompanies diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiac hypertrophy and neurodegenerative disorders. Thus, modulation HATs/HDACs activity is a promising approach for drug discovery. Selvi and Kundu focus their review on smallmolecule modulators of HATs as the transferases were recently found to be major drivers in the development of numerous diseases. Using the knowledge about known HAT modulators, the development of new modulators may lead to increased therapeutic efficacy in many diseases related to histone acetylation. Introducing rice resistance Sundaram , et al., Biotechnology Journal 2009, 4, 400–407 Understanding diseases of rice, an essential nutritional base for the majority of humans, is a preeminent task for plant biotechnologists. In this research article, Sundaram et al. from Hyderabad employ genetic engineering to counter bacterial blight (BB), a serious disease of rice often occurring in India. They use molecular markerassisted selection in backcross breeding to introduce three genes (Xa21, xa13, and xa5) for BB resistance into Triguna, a high yielding rice variety. Next, the researchers created homozygous plants with different combinations of BB resistance genes from backcrosses containing the resistance genes. Sundaram et al. find that plants containing the two‐gene combination Xa21/xa13 exhibit the strongest resistance against BB, and single plant selections are found to have a significant yield advantage over the Triguna wild type. Sundaram et al. report that the newly developed BB‐resistant rice lines will be included in national multi‐location field trials. In sum, this work represents a successful example of molecular marker‐assisted selection for resistance breeding in rice.