Mechanisms of control of gene expression

Mechanisms of Control ofGene Expression is a collection of brief papers presented at the UCLA Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology in 1987. The papers are organized into five chapters covering several areas of current molecular genetic research: gene regulation in prokaryotes, gene regulation in eukaryotes (transcriptional control and DNA-protein interactions), mRNA splicing and regulation of translation, control of stable RNA synthesis, and the role of oncogene proteins in normal and abnormal cellular responses. The chapters range from a rather brief treatment of the topic of stable RNA synthesis (three papers), to a more extensive treatment of eukaryotic gene regulation (thirteen papers). Even though there is a short chapter on prokaryotic gene control (four papers), a majority of the articles report on eukaryotic gene regulation. The individual submissions are scholarly and well referenced. The quality of this collection varies from paper to paper, however; most provide sufficient background information and discussion of their results, while several do not present any detailed data (neither figures nor tables). The two "discussion summaries" included in the volume ("RNA Processing and Other Mechanisms Involved in Prokaryotic Gene Expression" and "Development and Tissue Restricted Expression") give two of the chapters a high degree of coherency. Unfortunately, the remaining three chapters could have used "discussion summaries" as well; in these chapters, the reader is thus confronted with an assortment of individual and specific examples of gene expression with little more than an implied underlying common motif or mechanism to relate them. Nevertheless, the depth, pace, and excitement of the ongoing research in gene control is captured in this volume. Mechanisms ofControl ofGene Expression succeeds as a "snapshot" of our present understanding of gene control. It is evident from these articles that the current trend is toward the elucidation of trans-control mechanisms of gene expression by various cellular factors and interactions between the regulatory proteins themselves. This volume is thus recommended for anyone with an interest in the status of gene regulation. Specifically, both students and researchers will find that the papers in this collection represent a wide range of research topics, experimental systems, and techniques in the field of gene control. TONY TSE Medical Student Yale University School ofMedicine