Yeast genetics — Fundamental and applied aspects

Immobilized Cells and Organelles, Volumes 1 and 2 Editor: Bo Mattiasson CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, Florida, 1983, vol. 1 143 pp., US$55.00, $63.00 foreign, vol. 2 158 pp., US$55.00, $63.00 foreign In recent years immobilization of cells and organelles has been an area of keen interest for research workers. It is now an area of keen interest for book publishers. In view of the range of reviews already available, the general or specialist worker in immobilization technology will not find in these publications much information that is not readily available elsewhere at a more economical price. Such a comment is particularly pertinent as the publishers have seen fit to divide up the slender text into two even more slender, but nicely bound, volumes. The cost of this exercise is reflected in the prices charged. The books contain a number of useful articles, especially the second chapter, which includes worked examples of the major techniques currently used. Other chapters which are useful but which are bound to date quickly are those on 'Immobilized Organelles' and on 'Fermentations by Immobilized Strict Anaerobes'. The editor has also wisely included chapters on oxygenation difficulties associated with immobilized cells and on process engineering considerations. In all, the two volumes contain 15 chapters, which cover a wide range of interests including topics such as 'Affinity Chromatography using Immobilized Cell Membranes' and 'Culture of Mammalian Cells using Microcarriers', There is also much familiar material in articles from Amicon on 'Hollow Fibre Cell Culture' and in the chapter on 'Immobilized Non Viable Cells'.

However, in view of the mixed contents of these two volumes, the prices charged and the general expansion of literature in this area, these books would not, unfortunately, be on my list of recommended buys.

Marek Kierstan Kerry Co-Op R&D Centre, Tralee, Ireland

Yeast Genetics - Fundamental and Applied Aspects Edited by J. F. 7-. Spencer, D. M. Spencer and A. R. W. Smith Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg-New York-Tokyo, xxiv + 533 pp., DM 148.00, US$57.70 This book is a compilation of a series of monographs on a broad range of topics under the general umbrella of yeast genetics. Each contribution is, in general, well written and enjoyable to read, tending towards the fundamental rather than the applied aspects. All contributors cover their topics thoroughly, either directly or indirectly by reference to numerous original papers or more extensive reviews. Those subjects receiving attention include: cell division, sporulation, gene conversion, DNA repair, DNA relatedness, protoplast fusion, proteases and proteolysis, flocculation, yeast mitochondria, killer viruses and various aspects of genetic analysis and biochemistry of carbohydrate utilization in brewing and wine yeasts. The contributions are drawn from workers in both academic and industrial laboratories and as such give an interesting insight into the differing demands of each discipline. The book is designed for the researcher and attempts to give a 'comprehensive overview of the field'

without describing specific techniques or concentrating in detail on a particular topic. The diversity of the inclusions, together with the type of presentation, assumes both a basic knowledge of genetics and a desire for the acquisition of general information on the part of the reader; well referenced articles enable one to investigate any particular topic in greater detail. In the days of rapidly advancing molecular genetics and the creation of new biotechnologies, yeasts are assuming an increasingly important role in their own right as simple unicellular eukaryotes and also as model systems for exploring the complexities of the eukaryotic biophore. It is, therefore, somewhat surprising that a book which presumes to discuss the applied aspects of current yeast genetics fails to consider the contribution of the recombinant DNA technology to recent advances in our understanding of yeast. Reference is made only in passing to yeast transformation and the development of 2 / l m yeast vectors for gene cloning, little attention is paid to gene regulation, transcription, translation and protein secretion, all of which are of great importance with respect to future application of yeast genetics. The book fails to give a comprehensive overview of current knowledge, since it excludes topics of particular relevance. It also suffers the misfortune of being released in competition with the excellent series of monographs entitled' 'The Molecular Biology of the Yeast Saccharomyces' (eds Strathern et al., 1981, Cold Spring Harbor). Nevertheless, the book is to be recommended; any attempt to compile a series of quality contributions on a subject as diverse and far reaching as this within the confines of one volume deserves credit.

Edward Hinchliffe Bass plc, Burton-on-Trent, UK

Enzyme Microb. Technol., 1984, vol. 6, July

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