The author presents a basic introduction to the world of genetic engineering. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Authored by an integrated committee of plant and animal scientists, this review of newer molecular genetic techniques and traditional research methods is presented as a compilation of high-reward opportunities for agricultural research. Directed to the Agricultural Research Service and the agricultural research community at large, the volume discusses biosciences research in genetic engineering, animal science, plant science, and plant diseases and insect pests. An optimal climate for productive research is discussed.

Thirty-four Populus biotechnology chapters, written by 85 authors, are comprised in 5 sections: 1) in vitro culture (micropropagation, somatic embryogenesis, protoplasts, somaclonal variation, and germplasm preservation); 2) transformation and foreign gene expression; 3) molecular biology (molecular/genetic characterization); 4) biotic and abiotic resistance (disease, insect, and pollution); and 5) biotechnological applications (wood properties, flowering, phytoremediation, breeding, commercialization, economics, and bioethics).

Assists policymakers in evaluating the appropriate scientific methods for detecting unintended changes in food and assessing the potential for adverse health effects from genetically modified products. In this book, the committee recommended that greater scrutiny should be given to foods containing new compounds or unusual amounts of naturally occurring substances, regardless of the method used to create them. The book offers a framework to guide federal agencies in selecting the route of safety assessment. It identifies and recommends several pre- and post-market approaches to guide the assessment of unintended compositional changes that could result from genetically modified foods and research avenues to fill the knowledge gaps.

PART I Molecular Biology 1. Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Definition, History and Scope 2. Chemistry of the Cell: 1. Micromolecules (Sugars, Fatty Acids, Amino Acids, Nucleotides and Lipids) Sugars (Carbohydrates) 3. Chemistry of the Cell . 2. Macromolecules (Nucleic Acids; Proteins and Polysaccharides) Covalent and Weak Non-covalent Bonds 4. Chemistry of the Gene: Synthesis, Modification and Repair of DNA DNA Replication: General Features 5. Organisation of Genetic Material 1. Packaging of DNA as Nucleosomes in Eukaryotes Techniques Leading to Nucleosome Discovery 6. Organization of Genetic Material 2. Repetitive and Unique DNA Sequences 7. Organization of Genetic Material: 3. Split Genes, Overlapping Genes, Pseudogenes and Cryptic Genes Split Genes or .Interrupted Genes 8. Multigene Families in Eukaryotes 9. Organization of Mitochondrial and Chloroplast Genomes 10. The Genetic Code 11. Protein Synthesis Apparatus Ribosome, Transfer RNA and Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases Ribosome 12. Expression of Gene . Protein Synthesis 1. Transcription in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes 13. Expression of Gene: Protein Synthesis: 2. RNA Processing (RNA Splicing, RNA Editing and Ribozymes) Polyadenylation of mRNA in Prokaryotes Addition of Cap (m7G) and Tail (Poly A) for mRNA in Eukaryotes 14. Expression of Gene: Protein Synthesis: 3. Synthesis and Transport of Proteins (Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes) Formation of Aminoacyl tRNA 15. Regulation of Gene Expression: 1. Operon Circuits in Bacteria and Other Prokaryotes 16. Regulation of Gene Expression . 2. Circuits for Lytic Cycle and Lysogeny in Bacteriophages 17. Regulation of Gene Expression 3. A Variety of Mechanisms in Eukaryotes (Including Cell Receptors and Cell Signalling) PART II Genetic Engineering 18. Recombinant DNA and Gene Cloning 1. Cloning and Expression Vectors 19. Recombinant DNA and Gene Cloning 2. Chimeric DNA, Molecular Probes and Gene Libraries 20. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Gene Amplification 21. Isolation, Sequencing and Synthesis of Genes 22. Proteins: Separation, Purification and Identification 23. Immunotechnology 1. B-Cells, Antibodies, Interferons and Vaccines 24. Immunotechnology 2. T-Cell Receptors and MHC Restriction 25. Immunotechnology 3. Hybridoma and Monoclonal Antibodies (mAbs) Hybridoma Technology and the Production of Monoclonal Antibodies 26. Transfection Methods and Transgenic Animals 27. Animal and Human Genomics: Molecular Maps and Genome Sequences Molecular Markers 28. Biotechnology in Medicine: l.Vaccines, Diagnostics and Forensics Animal and Human Health Care 29. Biotechnology in Medicine 2. Gene Therapy Human Diseases Targeted for Gene Therapy Vectors and Other Delivery Systems for Gene Therapy 30. Biotechnology in Medicine: 3. Pharmacogenetics / Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine Phannacogenetics and Personalized 31. Plant Cell and Tissue Culture' Production and Uses of Haploids 32. Gene Transfer Methods in Plants 33. Transgenic Plants . Genetically Modified (GM) Crops and Floricultural Plants 34. Plant Genomics: 35. Genetically Engineered Microbes (GEMs) and Microbial Genomics References

Every day it seems the media focus on yet another new development in biology--gene therapy, the human genome project, the creation of new varieties of animals and plants through genetic engineering. These possibilities have all emanated from molecular biology. A History of Molecular Biology is a complete but compact account for a general readership of the history of this revolution. Michel Morange, himself a molecular biologist, takes us from the turn-of-the-century convergence of molecular biology's two progenitors, genetics and biochemistry, to the perfection of gene splicing and cloning techniques in the 1980s. Drawing on the important work of American, English, and French historians of science, Morange describes the major discoveries--the double helix, messenger RNA, oncogenes, DNA polymerase--but also explains how and why these breakthroughs took place. The book is enlivened by mini-biographies of the founders of molecular biology: Delbrück, Watson and Crick, Monod and Jacob, Nirenberg. This ambitious history covers the story of the transformation of biology over the last one hundred years; the transformation of disciplines: biochemistry, genetics, embryology, and evolutionary biology; and, finally, the emergence of the biotechnology industry. An important contribution to the history of science, A History of Molecular Biology will also be valued by general readers for its clear explanations of the theory and practice of molecular biology today. Molecular biologists themselves will find Morange's historical perspective critical to an understanding of what is at stake in current biological research.