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Nucleases
ANALYTICALBIOCHEMISTRY
136,
535-538 (1984)
BOOK REVIEWS Edited by S. M. LINN AND R. J. ROBERTS, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y., 1982. 378 pp. $45.00.
Nucleases.
This book about nucleases summarizes the results of a meeting held in August 198 1 at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The meeting brought together people who study nucleases from diverse points of view, and who therefore do not usually meet together. The book is not a complete summary of the proceedings of this meeting, but instead contains twelve chapters chosen to reflect the most important areas discussed. Therefore, it provides a broad and comprehensive coverage of the biochemistry, physiology, and practical uses of nucleases from a variety of sources. Michael Laskowski, Sr., to whom the book is dedicated, provided an excellent historical introduction which dispels any naive view we might have that the study of nucleases is simple and straightforward. The reader is drawn immediately to one of the dilemmas for those who study nucleases-a suitable system of classification has yet to be achieved. Although the meeting provided a suitable forum for this issue to be discussed, there is no evidence that this occurred. However, in the Appendix, Stuart Linn did tabulate most of the known deoxyribonucleases in a very reasonable attempt to address the problem. This table will he useful to anyone who needs a quick survey of the properties of one of a large variety of enzymes active on polydeoxyribonucleotides. The tabulation of enzymes active on polyribonucleotides by Howard Frankfort and Hugh Robertson is also useful, but more loosely organized and less complete. Eleven generally excellent chapters follow: five concentrate on the in vitro properties of various nucleases, four emphasize the cellular role of nucleases, and two describe experimental uses of nucleases. These latter two are by Kazuo Shishido and Tadahiko Ando, who discuss the uses of single-strand-specific nucleases, and Uttam RajBhandary et al., who discuss the uses of nucleases in RNA sequence and structural analysis. These two chapters will be helpful to people who want an overview of how to use these enzymes, and sufficient references are provided so the reader can obtain detailed procedures as needed. The chapters on the properties of enzymes discuss restriction and modification enzymes, ribonucleases H, DNA topoisomerases, and deoxyribonucleases. Paul Modrich and Richard Roberts provide a far more comprehensive discussion of restriction enzyme mechanisms than the averagereader may desire, but they have avoided discussing
the pragmatic aspects of these enzymes which are by now known to almost everyone. Jim Wang’s discussion of topoisomerases seems unrelated to the rest of the book as the nucleolytic properties of these enzymes are mentioned only indirectly, but these are fascinating enzymes, and it is certainly made clear that topoisomerization cannot occur without strand breakage. Linn provides an excellent discussion of the complete battery of deoxyribonucleases found in E. coli, but it would have made more sense to this reviewer to place it near the beginning of the book as an example of the total inventory of activities present in one cell type, and subsequent chapters could have amplified the various aspects introduced there. The ultimate reason for studying nucleases is to understand precisely what these enzymes do in vivo. The chapters on the roles of nucleases in recombination, DNA synthesis, DNA repair, and RNA prccessing are generally good reading, although the authors are forced to admit that it is often difficult to assign actual in vivo roles to the various nucleases known to be present. Linn provides an excellent discussion of the nucleases involved in DNA repair in E. cob, but in vivo roles can in most casesonly be guessed because of the multiplicity of pathways. Similarly, Paul Sadowski presents a thoughtful discussion of putative activities required for the Me&on-Radding model for general recombination, but can ultimately conclude only that certain nucleases might carry out the essential steps. Sidney Altman et al. provide very good coverage of the roles of nucleases in RNA processing, although they have concluded their chapter with a rather unconvincing discussion of why RNA processing evolved. Organization of a book derived from a meeting like this is frequently a problem. Because the topics are in most casesonly indirectly related, there is little continuity in the book and some topics are repeated. For example, the recSC nuclease of E. coli is discussed in three separate chapters but nowhere does the reader get a good idea about what the enzyme really does in the cell. Furthermore, as already mentioned, the order of the chapters does not seem to have been carefully thought out. However, this can be overlooked because overall the book is both a good source for quickly finding information about various nucleases,and a thorough review of what and how nucleases are involved in important cellular processes. There are many excellent tables and investigators working with nucleic acids will find this book a resource for several years to come.
535
HUBER WARNER
OQQ3-2697184 $3.00 Copyright Q 1984 by Academic Press. Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form rew’ved.
136,
535-538 (1984)
BOOK REVIEWS Edited by S. M. LINN AND R. J. ROBERTS, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y., 1982. 378 pp. $45.00.
Nucleases.
This book about nucleases summarizes the results of a meeting held in August 198 1 at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The meeting brought together people who study nucleases from diverse points of view, and who therefore do not usually meet together. The book is not a complete summary of the proceedings of this meeting, but instead contains twelve chapters chosen to reflect the most important areas discussed. Therefore, it provides a broad and comprehensive coverage of the biochemistry, physiology, and practical uses of nucleases from a variety of sources. Michael Laskowski, Sr., to whom the book is dedicated, provided an excellent historical introduction which dispels any naive view we might have that the study of nucleases is simple and straightforward. The reader is drawn immediately to one of the dilemmas for those who study nucleases-a suitable system of classification has yet to be achieved. Although the meeting provided a suitable forum for this issue to be discussed, there is no evidence that this occurred. However, in the Appendix, Stuart Linn did tabulate most of the known deoxyribonucleases in a very reasonable attempt to address the problem. This table will he useful to anyone who needs a quick survey of the properties of one of a large variety of enzymes active on polydeoxyribonucleotides. The tabulation of enzymes active on polyribonucleotides by Howard Frankfort and Hugh Robertson is also useful, but more loosely organized and less complete. Eleven generally excellent chapters follow: five concentrate on the in vitro properties of various nucleases, four emphasize the cellular role of nucleases, and two describe experimental uses of nucleases. These latter two are by Kazuo Shishido and Tadahiko Ando, who discuss the uses of single-strand-specific nucleases, and Uttam RajBhandary et al., who discuss the uses of nucleases in RNA sequence and structural analysis. These two chapters will be helpful to people who want an overview of how to use these enzymes, and sufficient references are provided so the reader can obtain detailed procedures as needed. The chapters on the properties of enzymes discuss restriction and modification enzymes, ribonucleases H, DNA topoisomerases, and deoxyribonucleases. Paul Modrich and Richard Roberts provide a far more comprehensive discussion of restriction enzyme mechanisms than the averagereader may desire, but they have avoided discussing
the pragmatic aspects of these enzymes which are by now known to almost everyone. Jim Wang’s discussion of topoisomerases seems unrelated to the rest of the book as the nucleolytic properties of these enzymes are mentioned only indirectly, but these are fascinating enzymes, and it is certainly made clear that topoisomerization cannot occur without strand breakage. Linn provides an excellent discussion of the complete battery of deoxyribonucleases found in E. coli, but it would have made more sense to this reviewer to place it near the beginning of the book as an example of the total inventory of activities present in one cell type, and subsequent chapters could have amplified the various aspects introduced there. The ultimate reason for studying nucleases is to understand precisely what these enzymes do in vivo. The chapters on the roles of nucleases in recombination, DNA synthesis, DNA repair, and RNA prccessing are generally good reading, although the authors are forced to admit that it is often difficult to assign actual in vivo roles to the various nucleases known to be present. Linn provides an excellent discussion of the nucleases involved in DNA repair in E. cob, but in vivo roles can in most casesonly be guessed because of the multiplicity of pathways. Similarly, Paul Sadowski presents a thoughtful discussion of putative activities required for the Me&on-Radding model for general recombination, but can ultimately conclude only that certain nucleases might carry out the essential steps. Sidney Altman et al. provide very good coverage of the roles of nucleases in RNA processing, although they have concluded their chapter with a rather unconvincing discussion of why RNA processing evolved. Organization of a book derived from a meeting like this is frequently a problem. Because the topics are in most casesonly indirectly related, there is little continuity in the book and some topics are repeated. For example, the recSC nuclease of E. coli is discussed in three separate chapters but nowhere does the reader get a good idea about what the enzyme really does in the cell. Furthermore, as already mentioned, the order of the chapters does not seem to have been carefully thought out. However, this can be overlooked because overall the book is both a good source for quickly finding information about various nucleases,and a thorough review of what and how nucleases are involved in important cellular processes. There are many excellent tables and investigators working with nucleic acids will find this book a resource for several years to come.
535
HUBER WARNER
OQQ3-2697184 $3.00 Copyright Q 1984 by Academic Press. Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form rew’ved.