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Principles of plant biotechnology — An introduction to genetic engineering in plants
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tion problems, e.g. premature bolting in several crops and the unequal ripening of cauliflower. All major vegetables (more than 40) cultivated in the temperate zone are discussed. Vegetables are grouped botanically (family name). For every crop the history, world-wide economic importance, botany, cultivation (if appropriate outdoor and glasshouse production) and harvest and storage are discussed. For the outdoor vegetables, part of the information is cited from grower guides published by the Agricultural Advisory Service in The Netherlands. According to the back cover, this book aims to be a help for commercial growers. It is my opinion, however, that the cultivation descriptions of the different crops are far too short to realize this goal. However, the book will be most valuable for undergraduate students, teachers and workers in the Extension Service. It gives a broad, up-to-date view on vegetable growing. E. HEUVELINK
Department o[ Horticulture Agricultural University P.O. Box 30 6700 AA Wageningen The Netherlands
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY
Principles of Plant Biotechnology - A n Introduction to Genetic Engineering in Plants by S.H. Mantell, J.A. Matthews and R.A. McKee. Blackwell Scientific, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0EL, England, 1985, 269 pp., illustrated, soft cover, price £10.80, ISBN 0-632-01215-3.
The authors have not explicitly stated to whom this book has been addressed. From the title, as well as the announcement on the back cover, one could infer that it would serve as an introductory textbook for beginners and undergraduate students. The subject matter includes almost everything from old embryo culture techniques to recent gene cloning methods in plants - all included under the general heading of Plant Biotechnology. In the introduction ( Chap. 1 ) the authors sound an optimistic note by stating that "Over the past few years a number of methodologies have come to the fore which would seem to have much to offer in terms of advancing current research in plant sciences, and exploiting this knowledge gained to develop new crops" (italics ours). These methodologies and their possible applications are described in the seven chapters that follow. These are: Plant molecular biology; Cloning of plant genes; Vectors for gene cloning; Cultural tools and techniques; Rapid clonal propagation; Crop breeding; Industrial plant products.
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In our opinion the three chapters on molecular biological methodologies ( Chaps. 2-4 ) are written more in the style of articles meant for publication in annual reviews rather than for a textbook for beginners and students. In the first place, the style is difficult to follow in many places, and secondly, unless one has a fairly good background knowledge of molecular biology, it would be difficult to understand the material presented. Without presenting details of methods or techniques, the authors frequently refer to original articles and reviews. For example, while describing the isolation and characterization of mRNA (p. 35 ), instead of stating the principles in a few easily understandable sentences, references are made to several original articles to which a beginner could not refer. Apart from this drawback and the lack of clarity, there are also several misleading statements. One example: the opening sentence on transposable elements (p. 83) reads: "These are segments of DNA which are not autonomous..."! The authors should have known that from the very first day of the discovery of transposable elements in maize (which were then known as Ac and Ds controlling elements) it was known that there are two types of elements - automonous (Ac) and non-autonomous (Ds). Unlike the previous chapters, Chaps. 5 and 6 are quite informative, well balanced and well written. Those who wish to acquire the fundamentals of plant tissue culture and its application will benefit from reading these chapters. The one chapter on crop breeding contains, as might be expected, hardly anything more than speculations on the potential uses of some of these techniques. These techniques include somatic hybridization, use of cell mutants for crop improvement, somaclonal variation, development of disease-resistant varieties through in vitro methods, increasing the photosynthetic efficiency of plants, development of nitrogen-fixing varieties and the improvement of nutritional qualities of crops through storage protein genes. Except for these interesting speculations, there is as yet no indication whatsoever that these technologies are helpful for the development of "new crops". The final chapter on industrial plant products is an interesting and useful addition. Several examples are illustrated in which plant biotechnology can contribute effectively to solve problems. The topics treated include the effective utilization of energy resources, chemical resources, enzymes from plants, genetic resources, etc. The book is fairly well produced with good illustrations. Nevertheless, it suffers from many spelling mistakes and inept proof-reading. Examples: "sugar callus cloning" (p. 169); "reciprocal locations" - it should probably read "reciprocal translocations" ( on the same page, 169). In conclusion, except for Chaps. 2-4, this book contains useful information and could be recommended for beginners. It should be pointed out, however, that although the year of publication is 1985, some recent developments are left out. For example, next to nothing has been mentioned about genetic trans-
158 formation in plants (the word "transformation" is missing from the index!) and on herbicide-resistant varieties that are being developed. M.S. RAMANNA Department Plant Breeding Agricultural University o[ Wageningen The Netherlands
tion problems, e.g. premature bolting in several crops and the unequal ripening of cauliflower. All major vegetables (more than 40) cultivated in the temperate zone are discussed. Vegetables are grouped botanically (family name). For every crop the history, world-wide economic importance, botany, cultivation (if appropriate outdoor and glasshouse production) and harvest and storage are discussed. For the outdoor vegetables, part of the information is cited from grower guides published by the Agricultural Advisory Service in The Netherlands. According to the back cover, this book aims to be a help for commercial growers. It is my opinion, however, that the cultivation descriptions of the different crops are far too short to realize this goal. However, the book will be most valuable for undergraduate students, teachers and workers in the Extension Service. It gives a broad, up-to-date view on vegetable growing. E. HEUVELINK
Department o[ Horticulture Agricultural University P.O. Box 30 6700 AA Wageningen The Netherlands
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY
Principles of Plant Biotechnology - A n Introduction to Genetic Engineering in Plants by S.H. Mantell, J.A. Matthews and R.A. McKee. Blackwell Scientific, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0EL, England, 1985, 269 pp., illustrated, soft cover, price £10.80, ISBN 0-632-01215-3.
The authors have not explicitly stated to whom this book has been addressed. From the title, as well as the announcement on the back cover, one could infer that it would serve as an introductory textbook for beginners and undergraduate students. The subject matter includes almost everything from old embryo culture techniques to recent gene cloning methods in plants - all included under the general heading of Plant Biotechnology. In the introduction ( Chap. 1 ) the authors sound an optimistic note by stating that "Over the past few years a number of methodologies have come to the fore which would seem to have much to offer in terms of advancing current research in plant sciences, and exploiting this knowledge gained to develop new crops" (italics ours). These methodologies and their possible applications are described in the seven chapters that follow. These are: Plant molecular biology; Cloning of plant genes; Vectors for gene cloning; Cultural tools and techniques; Rapid clonal propagation; Crop breeding; Industrial plant products.
157
In our opinion the three chapters on molecular biological methodologies ( Chaps. 2-4 ) are written more in the style of articles meant for publication in annual reviews rather than for a textbook for beginners and students. In the first place, the style is difficult to follow in many places, and secondly, unless one has a fairly good background knowledge of molecular biology, it would be difficult to understand the material presented. Without presenting details of methods or techniques, the authors frequently refer to original articles and reviews. For example, while describing the isolation and characterization of mRNA (p. 35 ), instead of stating the principles in a few easily understandable sentences, references are made to several original articles to which a beginner could not refer. Apart from this drawback and the lack of clarity, there are also several misleading statements. One example: the opening sentence on transposable elements (p. 83) reads: "These are segments of DNA which are not autonomous..."! The authors should have known that from the very first day of the discovery of transposable elements in maize (which were then known as Ac and Ds controlling elements) it was known that there are two types of elements - automonous (Ac) and non-autonomous (Ds). Unlike the previous chapters, Chaps. 5 and 6 are quite informative, well balanced and well written. Those who wish to acquire the fundamentals of plant tissue culture and its application will benefit from reading these chapters. The one chapter on crop breeding contains, as might be expected, hardly anything more than speculations on the potential uses of some of these techniques. These techniques include somatic hybridization, use of cell mutants for crop improvement, somaclonal variation, development of disease-resistant varieties through in vitro methods, increasing the photosynthetic efficiency of plants, development of nitrogen-fixing varieties and the improvement of nutritional qualities of crops through storage protein genes. Except for these interesting speculations, there is as yet no indication whatsoever that these technologies are helpful for the development of "new crops". The final chapter on industrial plant products is an interesting and useful addition. Several examples are illustrated in which plant biotechnology can contribute effectively to solve problems. The topics treated include the effective utilization of energy resources, chemical resources, enzymes from plants, genetic resources, etc. The book is fairly well produced with good illustrations. Nevertheless, it suffers from many spelling mistakes and inept proof-reading. Examples: "sugar callus cloning" (p. 169); "reciprocal locations" - it should probably read "reciprocal translocations" ( on the same page, 169). In conclusion, except for Chaps. 2-4, this book contains useful information and could be recommended for beginners. It should be pointed out, however, that although the year of publication is 1985, some recent developments are left out. For example, next to nothing has been mentioned about genetic trans-
158 formation in plants (the word "transformation" is missing from the index!) and on herbicide-resistant varieties that are being developed. M.S. RAMANNA Department Plant Breeding Agricultural University o[ Wageningen The Netherlands