Reviews
Life would be simpler if the entire genome of every organism descended directly from the genomes of its parents, but biology doesn't always work that way. The transfer of genetic material between organisms of the same or different species occurs by many mechanisms, under diverse conditions, and with a variety of important consequences. Bushman has performed an important service for the biological community by bringing all of this material together in a single very accessible volume. Now you can follow the gene-transfer story from drug-resistance in the hospital to lateral transfer in the early history of life on the earth without ever firing up your computer. In the decade of the genome, you need to know what is in this book.
—Leslie Orgel, The Salk Institute
It is extremely rare that I find a book whose reading encourages me to teach a new course with the book in question being the text. Lateral DNA Transfer: Mechanisms and Consequences by Rick Bushman is such a book. Most importantly, this extremely well-written book is very informative about an important but little appreciated topic — lateral DNA transfer and horizontal evolution. Although the book is quite encyclopedic (it is packed with observations and ideas), I enjoyed both the casual and in-depth reading of each of the chapters. This is an ideal text for a beginning graduate or upper-level undergraduate course. In addition, many established scientists will find it very informative.
—William Reznikoff, Evelyn Mercer Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin, Madison
This book, aimed at an audience with some background in biology, delivers much that is new for specialists and general readers alike. It is superbly organized, and its modular design offers easy accessibility to a diversity of readers.
The immense scope of the topic encompasses all living organisms on Earth and touches on all levels of biological organization. Therefore, the subject cannot be accurately pigeonholed into disciplines such as molecular biology or biochemistry. . . . The assembly and synthesis of such a huge body of information was a monumental task for a single author. His success at effectively addressing a broad audience required a grasp of modern biology that is rarely encountered in this era of specialization.
Bushman's valuable survey of our current understanding of natural transfer will help readers make more informed judgments about the broader implications of genetic engineering.
—Science
Rather than attempting to be an exhaustive resource for researchers in the field, this book aptly samples from the vast literature and takes special efforts to make it palatable and relevant to a wide audience. Basically, anyone with a rudimentary grasp of contemporary biology can begin to use this text; there is even a brief chapter supplying the essentials of molecular biology for those who managed to sleep through this portion of their introductory biology course at any time over the past few decades.
. . . In a day when most college textbooks strive to occupy some established niche—do I count nine biochemistry texts on my shelf?—it is a real pleasure to find a book that has accomplished something new.
—Nature Cell Biology
. . . Each chapter begins with a discussion of the biological context of the topic, includes excellent illustrations, provides current references from the primary literature, and concludes with a brief summary. Most importantly, the writing is clear and to the point, allowing reading of the chapters (or sections of them) without following the original order. . . .
Lateral DNA Transfer constitutes a great effort to put under one umbrella a variety of topics pertaining to genome evolution. Moreover, it provides a molecular genetic framework to understand the current technological applications for gene transfer including gene therapy, crop improvement, and control of insect populations.
—Cell
Checkout/View Cart
