- Email: [email protected]
Topics in Nucleic Acid Structure
32 Book Reviews Topics in Nucleic Acid Structure Edited b y S Neidle. London. 1981. £20.
pp 221.
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, ISBN 0-333-26678-1
This collection of nine articles serves to underline that although the determination of the primary sequence of often large DNA or RNA genomes is now almost a matter of routine, the elucidation of the three dimensional and higher order structures of nucleic acids remains a formidable problem. The topics covered in this volume range from detailed descriptions of the conformation of small oligonucleotides to physical and biochemical studies on eukaryotic chromatin. The principles and definitions of nucleic acid conformation are delineated by B M Berman and adopted uniformly throughout subsequent articles. Following articles by Berman and H S Shiek, R H Sarma and M M Shingra discuss the contributions of X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy to the determination of the structures of small synthetic oligonucleotides, raising the enormous task of describing the structures of larger, extended natural nucleic acid molecules. S Arnott describes the secondary structure of polynucleotide chains determined by X-ray diffraction analysis of fibres. S Neidle and T R Krugh provide interesting account of interactions of drugs and dyes with polynucleotides. The book is clearly aimed at the specialist reader who has a firm grasp of current X-ray and spectroscopic techniques. F o r this reader, the b o o k should provide an up-to-date account of this field with references in many articles as recent as 1980. The less specialist or advanced undergraduate reader may derive most benefit from readable accounts of the structure of eukaryotic chromatin by D M J Lilley, who in addition considers the structure of chromosomes and the control of transcription, and the article by S H Kim on the structure of the best researched nucleic acid molecule, yeast tRNA phe which pays attention to the correlation of its structure with its function in translation and interaction with ribosomes. G E Blair
molecular adaptation in the laboratory. Initially, the prokaryotic genetic background is described and then the author goes on to describe the experiments of her own group and others on the directed evolution of enzyme function and the relationship between these experiments and the adaptation of bacterial metabolism in nature. The biochemical evolutionary theme in much of the rest of the book becomes rather tenuous. There are chapters discussing the structure and function of the photosynthetic apparatus, HLA antigens, immunoglobulins, muscle contraction and vertebrate visual pigments. With the exception of the immunoglobulins the amount of comparative molecular data available is sparse and one can only conclude that more apt systems could have been chosen to illustrate patterns of molecular evolutionary change. In particular, none of the protein families chosen are well characterized at the three-dimensional level. Consequently the central questions of how proteins of widely-diverging amino acid sequence retain similar tertiary structures and functions through evolution is not discussed in depth. Peter Schuster contributes a detailed theoretical review on current speculations regarding the origin of life through chemical evolution. As the author points out, early chemical evolution must have been bounded by the same physical laws that are operating at the present time and the way these laws limit our speculation must be a major and legitimate goal of the prebiotic evolutionist. On the whole, the book is very well produced and every chapter has a substantial bibliography, the majority of which of which are up-to-date and balanced guides to the literature. In molecular evolution hypotheses are formulated on the biochemical comparison of extant species and they receive their intellectual credibility through the assumption that evolution proceeds in a parsimonious manner. Today's theorems are therefore little more than plausible constructions deduced from a small pool of molecular data and are therefore quickly overturned by tomorrow's extension of this factual knowledge. Hypotheses in molecular evolution and expensive books that describe them have an unusually short shelf life. D R Thatcher
Department of Molecular Biology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, UK
Biochemical Evolution Edited by H Gutfreund. pp 368. Cambridge University Press. 1981. £30.00 or £12.50 (pbk). ISBN 0-521-23549-9 or 0-521-28025-7 (pbk). The limitations of this book are apparent from the publishers' apologia on the inside cover. This is not a comprehensive introduction to biochemical evolution, but a collection of specialized essays whose theme concerns some aspects of the evolution of macromolecules. Parts of the book may therefore be of general interest to final year honours students and postgraduates. It is evident from the introductory chapter that this book has been written for the biochemist rather than the evolutionist and consequently many of the controversial issues which surround the role of molecular studies in evolution are taken as read. Undoubtedly, comparative biochemical studies are valuable and have, as this b o o k shows, given us much insight into modes of evolutionary change at the molecular level. As in morphological evolution, the comparison of molecular structure can be used either to infer common ancestry (evolutionary homology) or to deduce the mechanism of adaptation and evolutionary change. Derek Peacocke reviews the numerical methods used in the former approach. The deduction of natural phylogenies based on the comparative anatomy of proteins is an esoteric subject which the author has clearly and concisely described. Professor Clarke also contributes an interesting chapter on the evolution of enzymes in bacteria. Bacteria are exceptional organisms for the study of evolution. They grow so quickly and in such huge numbers that it is possible to observe evolutionary processes of BIOCHEMICAL
EDUCATION
10 (1) 1982
Brain Biochemistry (Second Edition) by H S Bachelard. Outline Studies in Biology, Chapman & Hall, London. 1981. £2.95. ISBN 0-412-23470-X When Brain Biochemistry first appeared in 1974, it represented an invaluable introduction to the field of neurochemistry. The b o o k succeeded in presenting a concise picture of the biochemical basis of brain function. It was also of a price and size (80 pages) that undergraduates could afford to invest in. Only minor changes have been made to this second edition and unfortunately it now reads as a somewhat dated text. The first edition had the misfortune to appear only months before the discovery of enkephalins and endorphins. Now would have been the opportunity for a major revision. Despite the significant advances that have been made over the last eight years, the section on 'Neuroactive Peptides' merits only two paragraphs! Brain Biochemistry begins with useful descriptions of the relevant morphology and physiology of the central nervous system. The bulk of the text deals with the process of neurotransmission particularly with regard to acetylcholine and the biogenic amines. More emphasis could have been put on postsynaptic events where only the cholinergic receptor is discussed at any length. The final section of the book deals with adaptive processes in the brain, including drug tolerance and dependence. As a basic introductory text on neurochemistry, Brain Biochemistry may still have its advocates. It is a pity, though, that it has failed to keep pace with events in neurobiology. A J Turner
pp 221.
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, ISBN 0-333-26678-1
This collection of nine articles serves to underline that although the determination of the primary sequence of often large DNA or RNA genomes is now almost a matter of routine, the elucidation of the three dimensional and higher order structures of nucleic acids remains a formidable problem. The topics covered in this volume range from detailed descriptions of the conformation of small oligonucleotides to physical and biochemical studies on eukaryotic chromatin. The principles and definitions of nucleic acid conformation are delineated by B M Berman and adopted uniformly throughout subsequent articles. Following articles by Berman and H S Shiek, R H Sarma and M M Shingra discuss the contributions of X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy to the determination of the structures of small synthetic oligonucleotides, raising the enormous task of describing the structures of larger, extended natural nucleic acid molecules. S Arnott describes the secondary structure of polynucleotide chains determined by X-ray diffraction analysis of fibres. S Neidle and T R Krugh provide interesting account of interactions of drugs and dyes with polynucleotides. The book is clearly aimed at the specialist reader who has a firm grasp of current X-ray and spectroscopic techniques. F o r this reader, the b o o k should provide an up-to-date account of this field with references in many articles as recent as 1980. The less specialist or advanced undergraduate reader may derive most benefit from readable accounts of the structure of eukaryotic chromatin by D M J Lilley, who in addition considers the structure of chromosomes and the control of transcription, and the article by S H Kim on the structure of the best researched nucleic acid molecule, yeast tRNA phe which pays attention to the correlation of its structure with its function in translation and interaction with ribosomes. G E Blair
molecular adaptation in the laboratory. Initially, the prokaryotic genetic background is described and then the author goes on to describe the experiments of her own group and others on the directed evolution of enzyme function and the relationship between these experiments and the adaptation of bacterial metabolism in nature. The biochemical evolutionary theme in much of the rest of the book becomes rather tenuous. There are chapters discussing the structure and function of the photosynthetic apparatus, HLA antigens, immunoglobulins, muscle contraction and vertebrate visual pigments. With the exception of the immunoglobulins the amount of comparative molecular data available is sparse and one can only conclude that more apt systems could have been chosen to illustrate patterns of molecular evolutionary change. In particular, none of the protein families chosen are well characterized at the three-dimensional level. Consequently the central questions of how proteins of widely-diverging amino acid sequence retain similar tertiary structures and functions through evolution is not discussed in depth. Peter Schuster contributes a detailed theoretical review on current speculations regarding the origin of life through chemical evolution. As the author points out, early chemical evolution must have been bounded by the same physical laws that are operating at the present time and the way these laws limit our speculation must be a major and legitimate goal of the prebiotic evolutionist. On the whole, the book is very well produced and every chapter has a substantial bibliography, the majority of which of which are up-to-date and balanced guides to the literature. In molecular evolution hypotheses are formulated on the biochemical comparison of extant species and they receive their intellectual credibility through the assumption that evolution proceeds in a parsimonious manner. Today's theorems are therefore little more than plausible constructions deduced from a small pool of molecular data and are therefore quickly overturned by tomorrow's extension of this factual knowledge. Hypotheses in molecular evolution and expensive books that describe them have an unusually short shelf life. D R Thatcher
Department of Molecular Biology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, UK
Biochemical Evolution Edited by H Gutfreund. pp 368. Cambridge University Press. 1981. £30.00 or £12.50 (pbk). ISBN 0-521-23549-9 or 0-521-28025-7 (pbk). The limitations of this book are apparent from the publishers' apologia on the inside cover. This is not a comprehensive introduction to biochemical evolution, but a collection of specialized essays whose theme concerns some aspects of the evolution of macromolecules. Parts of the book may therefore be of general interest to final year honours students and postgraduates. It is evident from the introductory chapter that this book has been written for the biochemist rather than the evolutionist and consequently many of the controversial issues which surround the role of molecular studies in evolution are taken as read. Undoubtedly, comparative biochemical studies are valuable and have, as this b o o k shows, given us much insight into modes of evolutionary change at the molecular level. As in morphological evolution, the comparison of molecular structure can be used either to infer common ancestry (evolutionary homology) or to deduce the mechanism of adaptation and evolutionary change. Derek Peacocke reviews the numerical methods used in the former approach. The deduction of natural phylogenies based on the comparative anatomy of proteins is an esoteric subject which the author has clearly and concisely described. Professor Clarke also contributes an interesting chapter on the evolution of enzymes in bacteria. Bacteria are exceptional organisms for the study of evolution. They grow so quickly and in such huge numbers that it is possible to observe evolutionary processes of BIOCHEMICAL
EDUCATION
10 (1) 1982
Brain Biochemistry (Second Edition) by H S Bachelard. Outline Studies in Biology, Chapman & Hall, London. 1981. £2.95. ISBN 0-412-23470-X When Brain Biochemistry first appeared in 1974, it represented an invaluable introduction to the field of neurochemistry. The b o o k succeeded in presenting a concise picture of the biochemical basis of brain function. It was also of a price and size (80 pages) that undergraduates could afford to invest in. Only minor changes have been made to this second edition and unfortunately it now reads as a somewhat dated text. The first edition had the misfortune to appear only months before the discovery of enkephalins and endorphins. Now would have been the opportunity for a major revision. Despite the significant advances that have been made over the last eight years, the section on 'Neuroactive Peptides' merits only two paragraphs! Brain Biochemistry begins with useful descriptions of the relevant morphology and physiology of the central nervous system. The bulk of the text deals with the process of neurotransmission particularly with regard to acetylcholine and the biogenic amines. More emphasis could have been put on postsynaptic events where only the cholinergic receptor is discussed at any length. The final section of the book deals with adaptive processes in the brain, including drug tolerance and dependence. As a basic introductory text on neurochemistry, Brain Biochemistry may still have its advocates. It is a pity, though, that it has failed to keep pace with events in neurobiology. A J Turner