4^th Glycobiology World Congress September 17-19, 2018 Rome, Italy

Genomics is the study of the genome in contrast to genetics which refers to the study of genes and their roles in inheritance. Genomics can be considered a discipline in genetics. It applies recombinant DNA, DNA sequencing methods and bioinformatics tools to sequence, assemble and analyze the function and structure of genomes with the complete set of DNA within a single cell of an organism. Advances in genomics have triggered a revolution in discovery-based research to understand even the most complex biological systems such as the brain. The field includes efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping.

Glycomedicine plays major role in cell-cell adhesion i.e. a mechanism employed by cells of the immune system via sugar-binding proteins called lectins, which recognize specific carbohydrate moieties. Glycans (carbohydrate oligomers) are the so-called “building blocks” of carbohydrates, nucleic acids, proteins and lipids play major roles in many biological phenomena as well as in various pathophysiological processes. Many scientists in other fields of research have now realized that glycosylation, i.e. the addition of glycans to a protein backbone, is the most abundant post translational modification reactions and is an important field of research and sometimes they require a glycobiology and/or glycochemistry approach to be used.

Cancer is caused when cells within the body accumulate genetic mutations and start to grow in an uncontrolled manner. Understanding how cancer develops and progresses including how glycan mutations drive the growth and spread of cancer cells and how tumours interact with their surrounding environment is vital for the discovery of new targeted cancer treatments. Researchers are working to understand the process by which cancer spreads known as metastasis with the aim of developing new treatments that prevent cancer spread or target metastatic tumours. Scientists believe the glycolipid complexity arises in part because tumours develop through a process of evolution by natural selection just as species of animals and plants have done.

Mass spectrometry (MS) based proteomics allows the sensitive and accurate quantification of almost complete proteomes of complex biological fluids and tissues. At the moment, however, the routinely usage of MS-based proteomics is prevented and complicated by the very complex work flow comprising sample preparation, chromatography, MS measurement followed by data processing and evaluation. The new technologies, products and assays developed by Precision Proteomics could help enabling and establishing mass spectrometry (MS) - based proteomics in academic and pharmaceutical research as well as in clinical diagnostics.

Glycomics is a discipline in genetics that applies recombinant DNA, DNA sequencing methods and bioinformatics to sequence, assemble and analyze the function and structure of glycans along with the genomes. Transcriptomics is a relatively young branch of omics science concerned with the systematic study of the chemical products or metabolites that cells and organisms generate. Indeed, most human metabolomic studies published today, even those exploiting the latest and most sensitive LC-MS/MS technologies, typically succeed in identifying or characterizing fewer than 100 compounds. This corresponds to less than 1% of the known human metabolome.

Glycans are components of many bio-therapeutic agents, ranging from natural products to molecules based on rational design to recombinant glycoproteins. The glycan components of these agents can be important determinants of their biological activity and therapeutic efficacy. Biochemistry and Glycobiology involves a multidisciplinary study of carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins), glycolipids  and some other plant proteins that are capable of interacting with endogenous or foreign (macro) molecules.

Glycans are at the center of many disorders and diseases sparking the possibility of exploiting them for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. There are many biochemical pathways and diseases in which glycans are intricately involved. Gaging the vast potential and the promise that glycobiology holds, many pharma and biotech companies have already started allocating their R&D budget to it. Presently, with our drug arsenal fast depleting against drug resistant and mutant pathogens, glycobiology hold an untapped source of new candidate drugs.

Glycan sequences cannot be described by a simple linear one-letter code as each pair of monosaccharides can be linked in several ways and branched structures can be formed. Few of the bioinformatics algorithms developed for genomics or proteomics can be directly adapted for glycomics. The development of algorithms, which allow a rapid, automatic interpretation of mass spectra to identify glycan structures, is currently the most active field of research. The development and use of informatics tools and databases for glycobiology and glycomics research has increased considerably in recent years. In terms of bioinformatics in glycobiology, there are several paths of research that are currently in progress.

Glycobiology along with the field of proteomics, particularly the application of mass spectrometry analysis to protein samples, is well-established and growing rapidly. Proteomics studies along with glycans generate large volumes of raw experimental data and inferred biological results. To facilitate the dissemination of these data, centralized data repositories have been developed that make the data and results accessible to proteomics researchers and biologists alike. Experimental analysis of proteomics data repositories focuses exclusively on freely-available, centralized data resources that disseminate or store experimental mass spectrometry data and results.

Glycobiology is the study of the structure, biosynthesis and biology of saccharides that are widely distributed in nature. Sugars or saccharides are essential components of all living things and aspects of the various roles they play in biology and are researched in various medical, biochemical and biotechnological fields. The study of glycan structures is also complicated by the lack of a direct template for their biosynthesis, contrary to the case with proteins where their amino acid sequence is determined by their corresponding gene.