Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

Handbook of Genetics, Vol. 5: Molecular Genetics by Robert C. KingReview by: Peter M. M. RaeAmerican Scientist, Vol. 65, No. 5 (September-October 1977), pp. 635-636Published by: Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27848122 .

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enable a competent practitioner to gain a lot of insight into the way things work.

There is a natural tendency, however, for the necessarily long and intimate dialogue between computer and scientist to pro duce a private understanding of the sys tem. Serious methodological problems arise in presenting such private under standings to a wide audience in a con vincing way; these methodological prob lems deserve more study.?Robert M.

May, Biology, Princeton University

From classical foundations of nuclear physics, Mr. Ka padia creates a speculative model of the origin of matter in terms of a construct that he labels matter?. His purpose is to explain on plausible scientific grounds how the universe evolved from the fundamental entities of space and energy.

JAMSHED DIN SHAH KAP ADI A

-VOLUTION

Illustrated

A ROMANCE IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY He posits a systematic evolution but does not rule out the

possibility of an instantaneous creation of the essential struc ture of the universe.

Kapadia s theory integrates the organic substance of the cosmos with the inorganic; i.e., it accounts for biological life as well as inanimate existence. Without claiming extra scientific knowledge, he raises possibilities in his "romance" that will intrigue the trained scientific mind in search of new

approaches to cosmology. $15.00 EXPOSITION PRESS, Dept. 306, Hicksville, N.Y. 11801

(516)822-5700

Microbial Production of Nucleic Acid-Related Substances. Koichi Ogata et al., eds. 348 pp. Halsted Press, 1976. $24.50.

Compiled by members of the Associa tion of Amino Acid and Nucleic Acid, with contributions from 33 researchers in in dustry and universities in Japan, this is a companion volume to a book published in 1972 by the same association, The Mi crobial Production of Amino Acid. The current volume summarizes all the re

search done in Japan on the microbial production of nucleic acid-related sub stances since 1959, when the possibility of industrial-scale production of nucleotides

was demonstrated. It will be of most in terest to those engaged in this type of work, especially those who are developing new fermentation processes with bacteria,

yeasts, and fungi for the production of nucleic acid derivatives, nucleotide-con

taining coenzymes, and nucleoside-re

lated antibiotics. The book may also in terest the nucleic acid biochemist and the molecular biologist. The writing is good and the material well documented with tables, diagrams, and copious references

to original papers. The only fault that mars readability somewhat is occasional unnecessary repetition, no doubt because so many contributors were involved.

A large portion of the volume is con cerned with the processes that have been used to produce 5'-IMP and 5'-GMP on

an industrial scale. These two purine 5'

ribonucleotides (but not their 2'- or 3' isomers) are among the major natural

flavor ingredients of foods. They have been shown to act synergistically with monosodium glutamate to enhance the

savory flavor of prepared food (provided the foods have been preheated to inactive Phosphatase and 5'-nucleotidase activi

ties). The corresponding 5'-deoxyri bonucleotides and 5'-AMP are not as ef fective in enhancing savoriness and are more difficult to produce. The pyrimidine 5'-ribonucleotides are ineffective as sea

sonings. After reviews of their metabo lism, the production of nucleotides by three methods is discussed: by chemical synthesis from bases and nucleosides, by enzymatic conversions from the readily available yeast RNA, and, especially, by the now more practical direct fermenta

tion methods. In the latter case, detailed accounts are given of the culture condi

tions and the factors that affect produc tion.

The important point is made that for compounds (including isotopically labeled compounds) having complex structures or various isomers, biosynthesis is preferable to organic synthesis. Thus the produc tions by fermentation of the various compounds are discussed.

Of interest to those in the medical field is an account of how some nucleoside and nucleotide analogues can be produced using microorganisms. Where else can one find a list of 35 nucleoside-related anti biotics from puromycin, tubercidin, formycin, and gougerotin to the less well known polyoxins, hikizimycin, and ez omycins, together with their structures and sources with references? Of addi tional interest to the nucleic acid bioche mist and molecular biologist is a survey of bacteria that produce large quantities of extracellular high-molecular weight DNA and a myriad of little appreciated tidbits of information, such as a brief account of plant ribonucleases that degrade RNA to 2/-nucleotides.?Murray J. Fraser, Bio

chemistry, McGill University

Handbook of Genetics, Vol. 5: Molecular Genetics. Robert C. King, ed. 667 pp. Plenum, 1976. $42.50.

Judging from the groupings of the 17 chapters of this volume (the molecular organization of chromosomes, gene tran

scripts, chloroplasts and mitochondria, mutant enzymes), I gather that the editor was attempting to provide (1) a broad but detailed treatment of molecular genetics of eukaryotes, which would give a context for the specifics of other volumes of the same series and (2) a comprehensive source of information on extranuclear (or

nucleocytoplasmic) molecular genetics. With regard to the second aim, the

volume is quite successful: there are five very good articles on nucleic acids and protein synthesis in mitochondria and chloroplasts, and broader questions of

nucleocytoplasmic interactions are cov

ered. As to the first aim, the collection falls short of the-mark. Six chapters are concerned with the molecular organiza tion of chromosomes, and five others deal with gene transcripts. The latter are very good to excellent?comprehensive, criti

cal, and as up to date as may be reason

ably expected (mid- to late 1975)?but the former are mixed in quality, and chromosome structure and organization suffer appreciably as a result.

In fairness, it must be noted that this shortcoming is due in part to the fact that 1974-75 was simply not the time for last ing review articles to be written on many aspects of molecular genetics. It was a period when a drastic reconstruction of the model of chromatin structure was

being formulated and documented. At the same time, substantial advances were

being made in the understanding of DNA

1977 September-October 635

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sequence organization, of the general nature of the regulation of transcription by nonhistone proteins, and of the nature of primary transcripts and messenger RNA. Thus, while readers interested in translation and in cytoplasmic genetic systems will likely find the volume and the usually extensive bibliographies use ful, those seeking good reviews of infor

mation on chromosome structure and

function will be disappointed.?Peter M. M. Rae, Biology, Yale University

Biological Effects of Microwaves. Stanislaw Bar?nski and Przemyslaw Czerski. 234 pp. Halsted Press, 1976. $12.

Microwave bioeffects can be a very confusing subject for scientists schooled in ionizing-radiation effects, as well as for the interested layman. This book can serve as a primer to elucidate the physical concepts of non-ionizing radiation needed to understand microwave bioeffects re

search. Subjects range from the operation of radiation-generating equipment to the parameters affecting the penetration and interaction of the radiation with living systems. In addition, because the authors are microwave researchers fluent in sev

eral Slavic languages as well as English, the book is a knowledgeable and com prehensive review of the Soviet and East European literature.

One of the book's most valuable aspects is the direct comparisons and contrasts the authors make among Soviet, Polish, and U.S. research philosophies and re

sults. For some readers, the merit of the book will lie in the clear discussion of the distinctions made in the U.S.S.R., Poland, and the U.S. that form the basis for the different exposure guidelines that have been adopted in those countries. The au

thors' own judgments and clarifications, carefully separated from the helpful topic summaries, offer great insight into the limitations of certain studies and the significance of others. Areas that need

more work to confirm and extend pre

liminary results are also highlighted. Inadequate copyediting detracts en

ormously from the potential of the book as a primer. Many errors merely cause

inconvenient disruptions in reading, but some involving incorrect units and in consistent symbols dramatically reduce the utility of the material. A few tables and figures suffer from unimaginative organization, while the details of some equipment operation and the derivations of some equations are vague, at best. The subject index, normally expected to be a very useful key to a reference book, has too few categories to be of much help.

In spite of these limitations, the book is highly valuable as an introduction to the complexities of microwave bioeffects research, as well as for the informed con trasts made between the research per formed by East European and Western

scientists.?Carl F. Blackman, Health

Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. En

vironmental Protection Agency, Re search Triangle Park, NC

Boundaries of Analysis: An Inquiry into the Tocks Island Dam Controversy. Harold A. Feiveson, Frank W. Sinden, Robert H. Socolow, eds. 417 pp. Bal linger, 1976. No price given.

The way hard science and technological and economic analyses enter, or fail to enter, into environmental decision-mak

ing is the subject of this valuable collec tion of essays. Those involved in envi ronmental work will appreciate the tho roughness of this case study and its de tailed documentation of processes that are often obscure and widely misunder stood.

The case chosen for study is the con troversy over whether to build a dam on the Delaware River at Tocks Island. The essays clearly illustrate how conclusions on water supply and demand, flood con trol, cost-benefit ratios, mathematical

modeling, recreation and transportation

planning, ecology, etc. are arrived at. They examine the not always valid assump

tions, the legal, institutional, and other restraints on what is and what is not considered, and the often incomplete data that lead to those conclusions. They then show how the conclusions influence es sentially political environmental decisions and how some of the real values at stake can be submerged in the process.

Anyone, scientist or layman, who wants

to understand the current controversy over President Carter's announced in

tention to reevaluate certain water re

source projects would be well advised to read this book. The essays, by distin guished contributors, are uniformly lively and clear, presupposing no special ex

pertise in water management. They are

thoroughly indexed and organized so that each can be read independently.

The book and its companion volume, When Values Conflict, are the result of a two-year research project sponsored by the National Science Foundation and organized jointly by the American Acad emy of Arts and Sciences and the Center for Environmental Studies at Princeton

University.?Maxine S. Goad, Water

Quality Division, New Mexico Environ mental Improvement Agency, Sante Fe

Simpler Networks and Behavior. John C. Fentress, ed. 403 pp. Sinauer, 1976. $17.50.

A "simpler network," as described by the late Donald Maynard, whose pi oneering work is cited in many chapters of this book, is a small group of nerve cells that form a functional unit which can be isolated and in which the working rela tionships of the elements can be deter mined. The basic argument for simple

networks is that biologists cannot cur rently understand the complex interac tions among nerve cells in the multimil lion- and multibillion-cell brains of higher vertebrates, whereas systems involving only a few neurons can be thoroughly analyzed. The principles developed can then be applied to the understanding of increasingly complex systems. Fentress's

book makes a strong and fascinating case for the information derivable from simple networks, although, as the author indi cates, that information has yet to be ap plied extensively to complex networks and systems.

In the opening sections, a variety of simple systems are described, most of them excellently suited to the questions to which they are applied. Simple net works that control crustacean locomotion

and digestion patterns are used to study rhythmic motor control, mollusks of varying complexity are examined for neural plasticity, and behavior patterns and nerve cell connections in insects, fish, and birds are developed to provide models for the roles of hormones, tissue interac

tions, and speciable genes. The emerging similarities across divergent species mil itate against Hoyle's (Ch. 2) suggestion that "data obtained by somebody else on his pet preparation seldom affect the work one is doing on one's own."

The latter part reviews some current problems in understanding neurobeha vioral relationships in the intact complex networks of vertebrates. Most of these chapters do not attempt to apply princi ples gleaned from simpler networks, and a number of approaches, from neuro

physiological analysis of subcomponent simple circuits in the cerebellum to be havioral analysis of complex motor pat terns, are described.

As Fentress notes, different analyses are appropriate for understanding the organization of systems and for deter

mining component mechanisms. None

theless, it seems unfortunate that the various chapters are not better related to each other. Despite the editor's integra tive chapters and connecting statements, the book remains a collection of excellent but isolated components rather than an

organized system.?William T. Green

ough, Psychology and Neural and Be havioral Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Comparative Immunology. John J. Marchalonis, ed. 470 pp. Halsted Press, 1976. $37.50.

If one wants to know about the immune responses of "lower" animals and how they compare with those of mammals (including man), here is an up-to-date and authoritative text. It covers phylogeny (e.g. "skin" allograft rejection in earth

worms and Immunoglobulin structure in amphibia) and, more briefly, ontogeny of the components of the immune response

636 American Scientist, Volume 65

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