- Email: [email protected]
Stress proteins in biology and medicine
903 systematic work where nomenclature is the first step towards conceptualisation and the discovery of new models is the first step towards new experimental pathways. This 25th volume begins with a chapter on calcium regulation in cells which is really the basis for communication in cells; continues by a chapter on zonation in the liver which gives some insight into the communication in organs and concludes with a historical sketch on neurochemistry which is, in some way, the basis for communication in the society.
molecular opportunism'). Clearly this monograph should be present in most molecular genetics laboratories.
J Haiech
Fungi and yeasts are becoming more and more important in Microbiology. Their use as hosts for the expression of eukaryotic proteins in genetic engineering has become a routine methodology. To obtain access to the cytoplasm, which is required entails for gene transfer, the translocation of the plasmid across the wall and the membrane of the target cell. This book is needed to obtain a better understanding of these micro-organisms. However, it is unclear as to whether this was the intention of this multiauthor book. Even if the first two chapters are a good introduction to the problems, it becomes apparent that not all of the physiological aspects of the subject are described. Biochemistry comprises mainly structural chemistry of bio-organic compounds with some aspects of their synthesis. In one case, the chapter concerns processes in higher plants and it is hard to find a relevance with the topic of the book. The biological pathway of biosynthesis is not described. A chapter on relations between growth conditions and biochemistry of the walls and membranes, an important part of Microbiology, is missing. Preparation, characterization and regeneration of protoplasm, another important aspect of the biochemistry of walled species, is also not mentioned. The metabolic function of the wall and membrane is shortened to a chapter on ATPases, a field where better reviews have already been published by the same authors. Description of exchange of nutrients from the growth medium to the cytoplasm is occulted. Nevertheless, the various chapters dealing with the synthesis and structural chemistry of chitin on the one hand and sterol on the other are good contributions to Fungi Microbiology. The bibliography is extensive. This book is only of value to scientists interested in the chemistry of molecules building walls and membranes in fungi. However biological aspects are definitely missing and this is disappointing after reading what was promised in the two introductory chapters.
Stress Proteins in Biology and Medicine. Edited by RI Morimoto, A Tissi~res, C Georgopoulos, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1990, 450 p.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory monographs are, deservedly, very well known by molecular geneticists, for they are not only of major interest when they appear in press but they remain important references for a decade or more. 'Stress proteins in biology and medicine' does not spoil the collection: it is, once again, a very good monograph on a subject of ever increasing interest. Stress proteins have, curiously, been discovered after rather anecdotal experiments in Drosophila, but they were soon found to be not only universal but also essential proteins. For some time, they were mostly connected to the heat shock response and no clear-cut function could be assigned to them. The new concept of chaperonins, or, perhaps better, of scaffolding proteins, gives new insight into the understanding of how proteins fold, are targetted to special loci in the cell, or are stabilized when physical or chemical environmental conditions change. It now appears that stress proteins have many unexpected functions and that their importance can no longer be confined to stress conditions. The purpose of this monograph is to provide the reader with most of the references needed to enter the subject, as well as hints on new orientation or questions. Molecular biology, as expected, is well treated: expression and regulation are central question which have been addressed in the most recent literature. However, phylogenesis, physiology and even some ecology are also investigated. The only missing chapter I would like to have read would be on crystallins, and the role of heat shock proteins in the phylogenesis of the lens, but it is a rather minor issue (although it presents very interesting questions concerning evolution and
A Danchin
Biochemistry of Cell Walls and Membranes in Fungi. Edited by PJ Kuhn et al, Springer Verlag, 1990, 327 p, DM 185
molecular opportunism'). Clearly this monograph should be present in most molecular genetics laboratories.
J Haiech
Fungi and yeasts are becoming more and more important in Microbiology. Their use as hosts for the expression of eukaryotic proteins in genetic engineering has become a routine methodology. To obtain access to the cytoplasm, which is required entails for gene transfer, the translocation of the plasmid across the wall and the membrane of the target cell. This book is needed to obtain a better understanding of these micro-organisms. However, it is unclear as to whether this was the intention of this multiauthor book. Even if the first two chapters are a good introduction to the problems, it becomes apparent that not all of the physiological aspects of the subject are described. Biochemistry comprises mainly structural chemistry of bio-organic compounds with some aspects of their synthesis. In one case, the chapter concerns processes in higher plants and it is hard to find a relevance with the topic of the book. The biological pathway of biosynthesis is not described. A chapter on relations between growth conditions and biochemistry of the walls and membranes, an important part of Microbiology, is missing. Preparation, characterization and regeneration of protoplasm, another important aspect of the biochemistry of walled species, is also not mentioned. The metabolic function of the wall and membrane is shortened to a chapter on ATPases, a field where better reviews have already been published by the same authors. Description of exchange of nutrients from the growth medium to the cytoplasm is occulted. Nevertheless, the various chapters dealing with the synthesis and structural chemistry of chitin on the one hand and sterol on the other are good contributions to Fungi Microbiology. The bibliography is extensive. This book is only of value to scientists interested in the chemistry of molecules building walls and membranes in fungi. However biological aspects are definitely missing and this is disappointing after reading what was promised in the two introductory chapters.
Stress Proteins in Biology and Medicine. Edited by RI Morimoto, A Tissi~res, C Georgopoulos, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1990, 450 p.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory monographs are, deservedly, very well known by molecular geneticists, for they are not only of major interest when they appear in press but they remain important references for a decade or more. 'Stress proteins in biology and medicine' does not spoil the collection: it is, once again, a very good monograph on a subject of ever increasing interest. Stress proteins have, curiously, been discovered after rather anecdotal experiments in Drosophila, but they were soon found to be not only universal but also essential proteins. For some time, they were mostly connected to the heat shock response and no clear-cut function could be assigned to them. The new concept of chaperonins, or, perhaps better, of scaffolding proteins, gives new insight into the understanding of how proteins fold, are targetted to special loci in the cell, or are stabilized when physical or chemical environmental conditions change. It now appears that stress proteins have many unexpected functions and that their importance can no longer be confined to stress conditions. The purpose of this monograph is to provide the reader with most of the references needed to enter the subject, as well as hints on new orientation or questions. Molecular biology, as expected, is well treated: expression and regulation are central question which have been addressed in the most recent literature. However, phylogenesis, physiology and even some ecology are also investigated. The only missing chapter I would like to have read would be on crystallins, and the role of heat shock proteins in the phylogenesis of the lens, but it is a rather minor issue (although it presents very interesting questions concerning evolution and
A Danchin
Biochemistry of Cell Walls and Membranes in Fungi. Edited by PJ Kuhn et al, Springer Verlag, 1990, 327 p, DM 185