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Bacterial and bacteriophage genetics (3rd edn)
BOOK
REVIEWS
receptors for selected viruses, such as HIV, poliovirus, influenza virus, rhinovirus and measles virus. Although the coverage of viral receptors is not comprehensive, an introductory chapter and introductions in other chapters provide a complete review of the receptors that have been identified. However, the book is not solely a catalog of viral receptors, but also describes events occurring after binding of the virus
to the receptor. Other topics covered include membrane-fusion events leading to penetration, receptormediated endocytosis, uncoating, the function of accessory proteins in entry, vectorial transport of viral proteins and antibody-dependent enhancement of infection. A variety of approaches, including genetic, biochemical, cell biological and structural, have been used to study these processes. Cellular Receptors
for Animal Viruses is the most com-
Colonies and plaques
several of its phages have provided an array of cloning vectors, regulatory signals, reporter sequences and proteins that have revolutionized biochemical investigation of the genomes of many other organisms. The creative use of these tools continues to draw on knowledge of the basic biology of the prokaryotes. Such terms as B-galactosidase, T7 RNA polymerase and T4 DNA ligase are virtually household words, even among the most ardent eukaryotic enthusiasts. The first commercial production of therapeutic drugs for human use (insulin and growth hormone) used genetic elements from the lac operon. T7 RNA polymerase and the T7 late promoter have been used to express the gene associated with cystic fibrosis in cells from patients via vaccinia viral vectors, and it may not be long before the prokaryotic infantry starts moving ions across the lungs of affected individuals. Although Birge’s book does not provide the depth or breadth of coverage encountered in recent monographs and reviews on E. coli and phage molecular biology, it does give an appreciation of the diversity of molecular mechanisms possessed by these popular prokaryotic systems. Nevertheless, more detail would have been welcomed, and a much stronger case could have been made, in the concluding chapters, for the contributions of bacterial genetics and biochemistry to research on the molecular biology of the eukaryotes, including humans. The title of the book is likely to draw the attention of those who teach graduate or advanced under-
graduate courses in microbial genetics, and there is mention in the Preface and on the back cover of ‘students’ as the potential audience. To use the book as a text for such courses would require significant supplementation from teachers, especially in several important areas that are not sufficiently represented in the reference lists at the ends of chapters. For example, not much is presented about the lessons that have been learned from the introns of prokaryotes and their mobility, nor of the widespread use of post-transcriptional controls by these organisms, which were once thought to be controlled mostly at the transcriptional level. There are several references from 1993 (very few from 1994), but the overall selection ‘is limited. Nevertheless, the author provides an excellent outline to build on, and a teacher will probably get many ideas for a course on the subject. In particular, all chapters include ‘Questions for Review and Discussion’, which can be used as springboards to develop the necessary level of detail for students and to expand on the author’s perspectives.
Bacterial and Bacteriophage Genetics (3rd edn) by Edward A. Birge Springer-Verlag, 1994. DM98.00 hbk (xv + 454 pages) ISBN3 54094270X his is a remarkably informative and well-written book that addresses a broad selection of topics in bacterial and bacteriophage genetics. Edward Birge presents major concepts in the field by using a variety of charts and figures from original research papers, reviews and monographs, in addition to presenting summaries of his own. It was enjoyable to revisit some of the studies that established the concept of cistrons, terminal redundancy/circular permutation in T-even genomes and transductional analysis. The end result is a convenient, but not comprehensive, source of information on the molecular genetics of bacteria and their viruses. The knowledge base in this field has expanded considerably since William Hayes published his classic on the topic, The Genetics of Bacteria and their Viruses, nearly 30years ago’. The growth of interest in these organisms as investigative tools during the past three decades is reflected by the large number of sizeable monographs and review series on specific bacteria, phages and prokaryotic regulatory processes that have appeared from Cold Spring Harbor, the American Society for Microbiology and other publishers. In particular, Escherichia coli and
T
TRENDS
IN MICROBIOLOGY
332
VOL.
3
No.
prehensive coverage so far of viral receptors, and will be of interest to a wide range of scientists, including virologists, cell biologists and pharmacologists. Thomas L. Lent2 Dept of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8002, USA
Jim Karam Dept of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tulane University Medical Center, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699, USA Reference 1 Hayes, W. (1968)The Genetics of
hcteriu and theirViruses (2nd edn),
JohnWiley& Sons
8
AUGUST
1995
REVIEWS
receptors for selected viruses, such as HIV, poliovirus, influenza virus, rhinovirus and measles virus. Although the coverage of viral receptors is not comprehensive, an introductory chapter and introductions in other chapters provide a complete review of the receptors that have been identified. However, the book is not solely a catalog of viral receptors, but also describes events occurring after binding of the virus
to the receptor. Other topics covered include membrane-fusion events leading to penetration, receptormediated endocytosis, uncoating, the function of accessory proteins in entry, vectorial transport of viral proteins and antibody-dependent enhancement of infection. A variety of approaches, including genetic, biochemical, cell biological and structural, have been used to study these processes. Cellular Receptors
for Animal Viruses is the most com-
Colonies and plaques
several of its phages have provided an array of cloning vectors, regulatory signals, reporter sequences and proteins that have revolutionized biochemical investigation of the genomes of many other organisms. The creative use of these tools continues to draw on knowledge of the basic biology of the prokaryotes. Such terms as B-galactosidase, T7 RNA polymerase and T4 DNA ligase are virtually household words, even among the most ardent eukaryotic enthusiasts. The first commercial production of therapeutic drugs for human use (insulin and growth hormone) used genetic elements from the lac operon. T7 RNA polymerase and the T7 late promoter have been used to express the gene associated with cystic fibrosis in cells from patients via vaccinia viral vectors, and it may not be long before the prokaryotic infantry starts moving ions across the lungs of affected individuals. Although Birge’s book does not provide the depth or breadth of coverage encountered in recent monographs and reviews on E. coli and phage molecular biology, it does give an appreciation of the diversity of molecular mechanisms possessed by these popular prokaryotic systems. Nevertheless, more detail would have been welcomed, and a much stronger case could have been made, in the concluding chapters, for the contributions of bacterial genetics and biochemistry to research on the molecular biology of the eukaryotes, including humans. The title of the book is likely to draw the attention of those who teach graduate or advanced under-
graduate courses in microbial genetics, and there is mention in the Preface and on the back cover of ‘students’ as the potential audience. To use the book as a text for such courses would require significant supplementation from teachers, especially in several important areas that are not sufficiently represented in the reference lists at the ends of chapters. For example, not much is presented about the lessons that have been learned from the introns of prokaryotes and their mobility, nor of the widespread use of post-transcriptional controls by these organisms, which were once thought to be controlled mostly at the transcriptional level. There are several references from 1993 (very few from 1994), but the overall selection ‘is limited. Nevertheless, the author provides an excellent outline to build on, and a teacher will probably get many ideas for a course on the subject. In particular, all chapters include ‘Questions for Review and Discussion’, which can be used as springboards to develop the necessary level of detail for students and to expand on the author’s perspectives.
Bacterial and Bacteriophage Genetics (3rd edn) by Edward A. Birge Springer-Verlag, 1994. DM98.00 hbk (xv + 454 pages) ISBN3 54094270X his is a remarkably informative and well-written book that addresses a broad selection of topics in bacterial and bacteriophage genetics. Edward Birge presents major concepts in the field by using a variety of charts and figures from original research papers, reviews and monographs, in addition to presenting summaries of his own. It was enjoyable to revisit some of the studies that established the concept of cistrons, terminal redundancy/circular permutation in T-even genomes and transductional analysis. The end result is a convenient, but not comprehensive, source of information on the molecular genetics of bacteria and their viruses. The knowledge base in this field has expanded considerably since William Hayes published his classic on the topic, The Genetics of Bacteria and their Viruses, nearly 30years ago’. The growth of interest in these organisms as investigative tools during the past three decades is reflected by the large number of sizeable monographs and review series on specific bacteria, phages and prokaryotic regulatory processes that have appeared from Cold Spring Harbor, the American Society for Microbiology and other publishers. In particular, Escherichia coli and
T
TRENDS
IN MICROBIOLOGY
332
VOL.
3
No.
prehensive coverage so far of viral receptors, and will be of interest to a wide range of scientists, including virologists, cell biologists and pharmacologists. Thomas L. Lent2 Dept of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8002, USA
Jim Karam Dept of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tulane University Medical Center, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699, USA Reference 1 Hayes, W. (1968)The Genetics of
hcteriu and theirViruses (2nd edn),
JohnWiley& Sons
8
AUGUST
1995