Synopses & Reviews
The cover shows many facets of genetics. Top row, Left: The DNA double-helix, here imaged in a scanning tunneling micrograph, is central to all genetics research. Right: Experimentation has shown that some social behaviors, such as nest cleaning by honeybees, is under genetic control. Second row, Left: Inherited disorders such as albinism, manifested here in a bullfrog, have provided many insights about the genetic control of metabolism. Right: Gregor Mendel's 19th-century work with pea plants elucidated the basic principles of inheritance. Third row, Left: Efforts to combat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, depend on knowing how the virus expresses its genes inside the cells of the immune system. Right: The fruit fly is ideally suited for studies on the genetic control of embryonic development and organ formation. Fourth row, Left: The identification of mutations that cause unregulated cell division facilitates the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of breast cancer. Right: HeLa cells, derived in 1951 from Henrietta Lacks, a woman who died of cervical cancer, thrive in the laboratory and are used in research worldwide. Bottom row: The replication of chromosomes (left) is a prerequsite for cell division (right).
About the Author
D. Peter Snustad
Michael J. Simmons
Table of Contents
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCE OF GENETICS.
The Science of Genetics.
Reproduction as the Basis of Heredity.
CLASSICAL GENETIC ANALYSIS.
Mendelism: The Basic Principles of Inheritance.
Extensions of Mendelism.
Inheritance of Complex Traits.
The Chromosomal Basis of Mendelism.
Variation in Chromosome Number and Structure.
Linkage, Crossing Over, and Chromosome Mapping Eukaryotes.
Advanced Linkage Analysis.
THE MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF GENES.
DNA and the Molecular Structure of Chromosomes.
Replication of DNA and Chromosomes.
Transcription and RNA Processing.
Translation and the Genetic Code.
Mutation, DNA Repair, and Recombination.
Definitions of the Gene.
THE GENETICS OF VIRUSES, BACTERIA, TRANSPOSONS, AND EUKARYOTIC ORGANELLES.
The Genetics of Viruses.
The Genetics of Bacteria.
Transposable Genetic Elements.
The Genetics of Mitochondria and Chloroplasts.
MOLECULAR GENETIC ANALYSIS.
The Techniques of Molecular Genetics.
Genomics.
Molecular Analysis of Genes and Gene Products.
THE REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION.
Regulation of Gene Expression in Prokaryotes and Their Viruses.
Regulation of Gene Expression in Eukaryotes.
THE GENETIC CONTROL OF BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES.
The Genetic Control of Animal Development.
The Genetic Control of Behavior.
The Genetic Control of the Vertebrate Immune System.
The Genetic Basis of Cancer.
THE GENETICS OF THE EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS.
Population and Evolutionary Genetics.
Epilogue: Genetics Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, by James F. Crow: A Personal View.
Glossary.
Answers to Odd-Numbered Questions and Problems.
Photo and Illustration Credits.
Index.