Thematic Minireview Series on Glycobiology and Extracellular Matrices: Glycan Functions Pervade Biology at All Levels

Glycans represent one of the four fundamental building blocks of life, and they are the most abundant biological molecules on our planet. Only in recent years have we begun to appreciate how deeply glycan functions pervade all aspects of organismic biology, molecular biology, and biochemistry. A recent National Academy Sciences report has concluded that a better understanding of glycoscience is critical for advancement of human health and for sustainability on this planet. The report further concludes that efforts to study this key area of biochemistry/biology have substantially lagged behind investments in other biological molecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins.