Book Review

摘要

Analysing gene expression, edited by S. Lorkowski and P. Cullen. 2003. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH. $335. Analysing gene expression, edited by S. Lorkowski and P. Cullen. 2003. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH. $335. Researchers studying the regulation of gene expression have developed a range of novel methods to study alterations in cellular RNA and protein content. A new handbook does an excellent job of examining how these procedures work and why they are useful to the biologist. Tools in science are in constant evolution. So scientists have to update their knowledge and find the best method to answer a question. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the field of molecular biology. To understand a particular disease or to characterize the phenotype of a mutant cell, we need to quantify messenger RNA and protein levels, often at a global level. Likewise, companies in the pursuit of novel drugs have become acutely interested in studying gene expression, both as a means to identify novel targets and to deduce the molecular mechanism (as well as the side effects) of an existing drug. Yet few books provide a comprehensive overview of almost every technique invented for the study of gene expression. The handbook Analysing Gene Expression, by Drs. S. Lorkowski and P. Cullen, is probably the first successful attempt to compile a comprehensive handbook devoted to methods in gene expression. At the heart of cellular regulation lies the working of tens of thousands of different biological molecules. Proteins regulate each other through posttranslational modifications; compartmentalization into different cellular organelles; and their targeted, controlled degradation, for example. Ultimately, many of these events control gene expression. Here, different mechanisms exist to regulate the production of the active gene product. Whole chromosomal regions or specific genes can be transcriptionally silenced or activated by various enzymes and proteins that lock in the transcriptional state, transcriptional initiation, and elongation can be enhanced in very specific ways; the way genes are spliced together to produce the mature messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule can be influenced; and, finally, translation of mRNAs into proteins can be regulated. Even for a lab studying a single pathway, mechanism, or protein, the sheer complexity of events call for an interdisciplinary approach to study gene and protein function. This need has led molecular biologists to create novel tools on both a conventional lab scale, as well as on a scale (and with a lot of know-how) that originates from the engineering and computer science field. Indeed, modern molecular biology owes a lot to developments in computer technology, robotics, and information management. It is due to these recent efforts that we can speak of functional genomics, proteomics, and systems biology. A small, traditional lab toiling away on their pet gene (or protein) could be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed with all this new technology in the gene expression field from time to time. But this need not be so, and the book Analysing Gene Expression proves this point. Despite its considerable length of about 1000 pages, it succeeds at informing the readers who could stand to profit from the book most. The book is completely up-to-date and provides a compendium of the methods currently used to analyze gene expression. It covers state-of-the-art methods such as DNA microarrays, real-time PCR, differential display, and positron emission tomography. It has required a worldwide joint effort of many leading researchers to achieve this encyclopedia of functional genomics. All the methods and the necessary equipment are presented visually in more than 300—mostly colored—illustrations. Enough details are provided to determine the most suitable technique to address a biological question. Moreover, the concepts are put into perspective by discussing their inherent advantages and drawbacks. The book has been o