MISCELLANEA
Traffic jamming Intracellular Trafficking of Proteins edited by Clifford J. Steer and John A. Hanover, Cambridge University Press, 1991. £85.00 (xxvi + 745 pages) ISBN 0 521 36120 6 As the editors remark in the preface to this book, 'understanding the intracellular trafficking of proteins is a major theme in contemporary cell biology'. Protein trafficking and its partner topic, membrane transport, have become a focus for many groups - working on a variety of different, and often exotic, systems. With such diversity, it is not easy to cover all aspects of the subject within a single multi-author volume. Nevertheless, this is what Clifford Steer and John Hanover have bravely tried to do. The volume is divided into three sections. The first and second cover protein trafficking through the endocytic and exocytic pathways, respectively, and account for all but three of the book's twenty chapters. Within these two sections, organelles such as coated vesicles, endosomes and the Golgi complex are discussed in individual chapters, while acidification, toxin entry, protein translocation in the endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomal enzyme biogenesis, secretion, sorting in epithelial cells, and the trafficking of the receptors for IgA, epidermal growth factor, asialoglycoproteins, transferrin and T cell antigens are covered by one or more chapters. The final section contains articles on protein import into the nucleus, mitochondria and peroxisomes. This broad subject area must have presented the editors with a number of difficulties - for example, in ensuring that the most important topics would be covered, and in bringing the contributions together within a reasonable period of time. Unfortunately, the book has shortcomings, which could be attributed to one or other of these problems. Multi-author Mark Marsh volumes are often as current only as Chester Beatty the article supplied by the slowest Laboratories, contributor. A chapter I wrote for Fulham Road, such a volume in 1985 has only London recently been published and, rather SW3 61B,UK. than providing a thoughtful review, 32
has served only to demonstrate how quickly the field has moved on. Although Steer and Hanover's book may not have had quite such a long gestation period, a number of the chapters are not current and, judging by their contents and reference lists, may have been written in 1988 or earlier. The most obvious of these - perhaps it was the first to be submitted - is the overview of endocytosis. This contribution is remarkable for not only exhuming a series of ideas on coated pits and the endocytic pathway that lost favour in the mid-1980s, but also for presenting these ideas without reference to other more widely accepted opinions. Fortunately, the balance is redressed by subsequent articles. Nevertheless, an uninitiated reader, unaware of previous debates, is likely to be confused by these contrary views. Other articles are more up to date and provide excellent reviews of their respective subjects. Nevertheless, I felt that important areas had been overlooked. Much of the current excitement in the study of protein trafficking and membrane transport is coming from the genetic analysis of yeast systems and from the reconstruction of specific targeting and transport events in cell-free systems. A number of the most significant new discoveries have been published in the last year, but at the time when this volume must have been planned the potential of these
Leafing through Plant Physiology by Lincoln Taiz and Eduardo Zeiger, Benjamin Cummings, 1991. £21.95 (xxxii + 559 pages) ISBN 0 8053 0245 X Plant Physiology, by Taiz and Zeiger, provides a general introduction to the plant kingdom, The first part, 'Overview and essential concepts', introduces plant cells and biochemical processes, Unit I then discusses transport processes, water and solute transport, the basics of mineral nutrition, phloem transport, and assimilate partitioning, In unit II, a
systems was clear and the first positive data were already available. In my mind, these topics warranted their own chapters rather than summary treatments in contributions focused elsewhere. Similarly, the information now available on, for example, the Rab GTP-binding proteins, the KDEL endoplasmic reticulure retention signal, and the motifs in transmembrane proteins that permit binding to clathrin adaptors, has moved way beyond the cursory discussions in this volume. In addition, protein targeting in bacteria, and the major histocompatibility antigens, barely get a mention. As indicated by the birth of journals such as Trendsin Cell Biology, we are witnessing a golden age in cell biology. However, there are two faces to this particular coin: on the one side, intriguing new discoveries are being made at a staggering rate, but, on the flip side, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with all of these developments. Publishers face a real problem in getting information out quickly, and a delay of as little as a few months can turn a good volume into an indifferent one. While I would not say that this volume is indifferent, it is not as current as it could be and I would not recommend individuals to purchase it. However, it would be a useful addition to a library and it will provide a solid base for those beginning to take an interest in protein trafficking.
comprensive survey of the biochemistry and physiology of photosynthesis is presented. In addition, lipid metabolism and mineral nutrient assimilation are very briefly described, secondary metabolism is discussed with an emphasis on its function in plant defence against predators, and the section ends with a description of stress responses. Unit III concerns growth and development. After a very brief introduction to plant morphogenesis, the functions of the plant growth regulators auxin, cytokinins, gibberellins, ethylene and abscisic acid are addressed. Two chapters on photomorphogenesis and the control of flowering appear at the end of the book. This introductory text on plant physiology and biochemistry contains a wealth of accurate and welldocumented information on specific topics, such as water transport,
TRENDS IN CELL BIOLOGYVOL. 2 JANUARY 1992
~KlIlll~lffall~|~
MISCELLANEA
photosynthesis and gibberellins. A valuable feature of the book is the summary at the end of each chapter, which includes suggestions for further reading. However, it is surprising that essential elements that would make the text a complete general reference book are lacking. For instance, flower development, fertility and the physiology of fructi-
Stories of immunology Immunology - A Synthesis (2nd edn)
by Edward S. Golub and Douglas R. Green, Sinauer Associates, 1991. £29.95 (xxviii + 744 pages) ISBN 0 87893 263 1 There has been quite a flood of new 'mid-weight' textbooks of immunology over the past couple of years, so anyone seeking to raise the water level still further needs to have something new to contribute, in terms of either content, approach, or potential readership. This book clearly aims to separate itself from the pack with regard to the last two criteria. Indeed, in a 'note to the reader' at the beginning of the book, the authors specifically state that this is not a book for the cardcarrying immunologist, and that if you already know your way around Immunology Today or Advances in Immunology, then you should hand the book on to someone who doesn't, who 'will thank you for it'. Will they - particularly if they happen to be a cell biologist - or are there better choices? The answer will probably depend on one's reaction to the authors' style and presentation. Each chapter (or in some cases, section within a chapter) initially presents relevant discoveries in a narrative style, drawing attention to key experiments. This is followed by a 'synthesis' in which the current state of knowledge is described in reasonable detail, and each chapter concludes with a brief summary and a few key references, usually to books or reviews. The text is liberally sprinkled with anecdotal comments and quotations, which the authors
fication are hardly mentioned in the book, the presentation of lipid metabolism is very short in ,piew of its importance, and little refelence is made to the Agrobacterium oncogenes, tissue culture techniques and the use of protoplasts in the study of plant physiology and development. Although presented as a book on physiology, the text includes expla-
nations of plant biochemistry; however, there is very little coverage of relevant genetics and molecular biology. The book is best suited to undergraduate and graduate students, since it explains basic processes in plants in a very comprehensive way. In this role, the presentation of the book would have been enhanced by the use of colour illustrations.
suggest may help to bring to the reader some of the excitement that has accompanied discoveries in immunology. However, to some readers this feature may be more of a source of irritation, and leave them wishing that the authors would be less discursive and simply get on with the job in hand. Does this approach work, given that it is intended to educate the nonimmunologist? To find out, I selected the chapter on network theory, about which I knew almost nothing, and read it from beginning to end. I did not fall asleep while reading it, and at the end had a fair knowledge of what network theory involved. So it seems likely that the authors have succeeded in their attempt to explain immunology in some detail to a nonimmunological readership. Despite the fact that the book claims not to have covered the whole of immunology, it is in fact fairly comprehensive. There are 39 chapters, grouped into three parts: 'lmmunochemistry', 'Cellular Immunology' and 'Immunity and immunopathology'. The text is well I,~id out, with liberal use of sub headings, and well illustrated with two-colour diagrams. Of particular interest to cell biologists are good, up-to-date chapters on the cellular events involved in antigen processing and presentation, and on molecular events occurring during lymphocyte activation. However, coverage of cytokines is patchy, with no individual chapter devoted to this burgeoning area of immunology. Interleukin 2 (IL-2), and other cytokines involved in cell growth and differentiation (including IL-9 and I1_-10), are dealt with in reasonable detail, but there is very little about tumour necrosis factor. When discussing terminology, the authors make the surprising statement that 'some investigators suggested that all factors simply be called cytokines, but this never caught on'.
The main problem with any textbook dealing with a rapidly developing subject such as immunology is that it is likely to be out of date before publication. Here the authors are to be congratulated, not only for admitting to the problem in their 'afterward' (a kind of end-of-book preface) but in tackling the problem better than most by ensuring rapid publication. The main text contains references to work published up to 1990, and a last-minute update on the viral origin of self-'superantigens', included as an appendix, contains 1991 references. There are two other appendices, which summarize the one-letter code for amino acids (including mnemonics), and (very usefully) the distribution and nature of molecules delineated by the human CD designation system. There is also a short list of abbreviations and a glossary. By contrast to the comprehensive list of contents, the index is somewhat disappointing. For example, under 'neutrophil' only a single page reference is given, despite numerous mentions of neutrophils elsewhere. For a book intended to be used by nonimmunologists, this is something of a disadvantage. In conclusion, a decision on whether to buy this book will depend largely upon whether one is attracted by the authors' unusual method of presentation. For those who like their immunology 'straight', and find the authors' style too discursive, there are probably better choices, and cell biologists in particular may prefer the new book by Abbas et al. 1, which concentrates on cellular and molecular aspects. However, if the 'story' element helps to bring the subject alive, then this book may well succeed in keeping the reader interested where others have failed.
TRENDS IN CELL BIOLOGY VOL. 2 JANUARY1992
Reference 1 ABBAS,A. K., LICHTMANN,A. H. and POBER,J. S. (1991) Cellularand Molecular Immunology,W. B. Saunders
Michel Caboche Laboratoire de Biologie Cellu!aire INFR, F 78026 VersaillesCedex, France.
)eremy H, Brock Department of Immunology, Western Infirmary, Glasgow G11 6NT, UK. 33
Traffic jamming Intracellular Trafficking of Proteins edited by Clifford J. Steer and John A. Hanover, Cambridge University Press, 1991. £85.00 (xxvi + 745 pages) ISBN 0 521 36120 6 As the editors remark in the preface to this book, 'understanding the intracellular trafficking of proteins is a major theme in contemporary cell biology'. Protein trafficking and its partner topic, membrane transport, have become a focus for many groups - working on a variety of different, and often exotic, systems. With such diversity, it is not easy to cover all aspects of the subject within a single multi-author volume. Nevertheless, this is what Clifford Steer and John Hanover have bravely tried to do. The volume is divided into three sections. The first and second cover protein trafficking through the endocytic and exocytic pathways, respectively, and account for all but three of the book's twenty chapters. Within these two sections, organelles such as coated vesicles, endosomes and the Golgi complex are discussed in individual chapters, while acidification, toxin entry, protein translocation in the endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomal enzyme biogenesis, secretion, sorting in epithelial cells, and the trafficking of the receptors for IgA, epidermal growth factor, asialoglycoproteins, transferrin and T cell antigens are covered by one or more chapters. The final section contains articles on protein import into the nucleus, mitochondria and peroxisomes. This broad subject area must have presented the editors with a number of difficulties - for example, in ensuring that the most important topics would be covered, and in bringing the contributions together within a reasonable period of time. Unfortunately, the book has shortcomings, which could be attributed to one or other of these problems. Multi-author Mark Marsh volumes are often as current only as Chester Beatty the article supplied by the slowest Laboratories, contributor. A chapter I wrote for Fulham Road, such a volume in 1985 has only London recently been published and, rather SW3 61B,UK. than providing a thoughtful review, 32
has served only to demonstrate how quickly the field has moved on. Although Steer and Hanover's book may not have had quite such a long gestation period, a number of the chapters are not current and, judging by their contents and reference lists, may have been written in 1988 or earlier. The most obvious of these - perhaps it was the first to be submitted - is the overview of endocytosis. This contribution is remarkable for not only exhuming a series of ideas on coated pits and the endocytic pathway that lost favour in the mid-1980s, but also for presenting these ideas without reference to other more widely accepted opinions. Fortunately, the balance is redressed by subsequent articles. Nevertheless, an uninitiated reader, unaware of previous debates, is likely to be confused by these contrary views. Other articles are more up to date and provide excellent reviews of their respective subjects. Nevertheless, I felt that important areas had been overlooked. Much of the current excitement in the study of protein trafficking and membrane transport is coming from the genetic analysis of yeast systems and from the reconstruction of specific targeting and transport events in cell-free systems. A number of the most significant new discoveries have been published in the last year, but at the time when this volume must have been planned the potential of these
Leafing through Plant Physiology by Lincoln Taiz and Eduardo Zeiger, Benjamin Cummings, 1991. £21.95 (xxxii + 559 pages) ISBN 0 8053 0245 X Plant Physiology, by Taiz and Zeiger, provides a general introduction to the plant kingdom, The first part, 'Overview and essential concepts', introduces plant cells and biochemical processes, Unit I then discusses transport processes, water and solute transport, the basics of mineral nutrition, phloem transport, and assimilate partitioning, In unit II, a
systems was clear and the first positive data were already available. In my mind, these topics warranted their own chapters rather than summary treatments in contributions focused elsewhere. Similarly, the information now available on, for example, the Rab GTP-binding proteins, the KDEL endoplasmic reticulure retention signal, and the motifs in transmembrane proteins that permit binding to clathrin adaptors, has moved way beyond the cursory discussions in this volume. In addition, protein targeting in bacteria, and the major histocompatibility antigens, barely get a mention. As indicated by the birth of journals such as Trendsin Cell Biology, we are witnessing a golden age in cell biology. However, there are two faces to this particular coin: on the one side, intriguing new discoveries are being made at a staggering rate, but, on the flip side, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with all of these developments. Publishers face a real problem in getting information out quickly, and a delay of as little as a few months can turn a good volume into an indifferent one. While I would not say that this volume is indifferent, it is not as current as it could be and I would not recommend individuals to purchase it. However, it would be a useful addition to a library and it will provide a solid base for those beginning to take an interest in protein trafficking.
comprensive survey of the biochemistry and physiology of photosynthesis is presented. In addition, lipid metabolism and mineral nutrient assimilation are very briefly described, secondary metabolism is discussed with an emphasis on its function in plant defence against predators, and the section ends with a description of stress responses. Unit III concerns growth and development. After a very brief introduction to plant morphogenesis, the functions of the plant growth regulators auxin, cytokinins, gibberellins, ethylene and abscisic acid are addressed. Two chapters on photomorphogenesis and the control of flowering appear at the end of the book. This introductory text on plant physiology and biochemistry contains a wealth of accurate and welldocumented information on specific topics, such as water transport,
TRENDS IN CELL BIOLOGYVOL. 2 JANUARY 1992
~KlIlll~lffall~|~
MISCELLANEA
photosynthesis and gibberellins. A valuable feature of the book is the summary at the end of each chapter, which includes suggestions for further reading. However, it is surprising that essential elements that would make the text a complete general reference book are lacking. For instance, flower development, fertility and the physiology of fructi-
Stories of immunology Immunology - A Synthesis (2nd edn)
by Edward S. Golub and Douglas R. Green, Sinauer Associates, 1991. £29.95 (xxviii + 744 pages) ISBN 0 87893 263 1 There has been quite a flood of new 'mid-weight' textbooks of immunology over the past couple of years, so anyone seeking to raise the water level still further needs to have something new to contribute, in terms of either content, approach, or potential readership. This book clearly aims to separate itself from the pack with regard to the last two criteria. Indeed, in a 'note to the reader' at the beginning of the book, the authors specifically state that this is not a book for the cardcarrying immunologist, and that if you already know your way around Immunology Today or Advances in Immunology, then you should hand the book on to someone who doesn't, who 'will thank you for it'. Will they - particularly if they happen to be a cell biologist - or are there better choices? The answer will probably depend on one's reaction to the authors' style and presentation. Each chapter (or in some cases, section within a chapter) initially presents relevant discoveries in a narrative style, drawing attention to key experiments. This is followed by a 'synthesis' in which the current state of knowledge is described in reasonable detail, and each chapter concludes with a brief summary and a few key references, usually to books or reviews. The text is liberally sprinkled with anecdotal comments and quotations, which the authors
fication are hardly mentioned in the book, the presentation of lipid metabolism is very short in ,piew of its importance, and little refelence is made to the Agrobacterium oncogenes, tissue culture techniques and the use of protoplasts in the study of plant physiology and development. Although presented as a book on physiology, the text includes expla-
nations of plant biochemistry; however, there is very little coverage of relevant genetics and molecular biology. The book is best suited to undergraduate and graduate students, since it explains basic processes in plants in a very comprehensive way. In this role, the presentation of the book would have been enhanced by the use of colour illustrations.
suggest may help to bring to the reader some of the excitement that has accompanied discoveries in immunology. However, to some readers this feature may be more of a source of irritation, and leave them wishing that the authors would be less discursive and simply get on with the job in hand. Does this approach work, given that it is intended to educate the nonimmunologist? To find out, I selected the chapter on network theory, about which I knew almost nothing, and read it from beginning to end. I did not fall asleep while reading it, and at the end had a fair knowledge of what network theory involved. So it seems likely that the authors have succeeded in their attempt to explain immunology in some detail to a nonimmunological readership. Despite the fact that the book claims not to have covered the whole of immunology, it is in fact fairly comprehensive. There are 39 chapters, grouped into three parts: 'lmmunochemistry', 'Cellular Immunology' and 'Immunity and immunopathology'. The text is well I,~id out, with liberal use of sub headings, and well illustrated with two-colour diagrams. Of particular interest to cell biologists are good, up-to-date chapters on the cellular events involved in antigen processing and presentation, and on molecular events occurring during lymphocyte activation. However, coverage of cytokines is patchy, with no individual chapter devoted to this burgeoning area of immunology. Interleukin 2 (IL-2), and other cytokines involved in cell growth and differentiation (including IL-9 and I1_-10), are dealt with in reasonable detail, but there is very little about tumour necrosis factor. When discussing terminology, the authors make the surprising statement that 'some investigators suggested that all factors simply be called cytokines, but this never caught on'.
The main problem with any textbook dealing with a rapidly developing subject such as immunology is that it is likely to be out of date before publication. Here the authors are to be congratulated, not only for admitting to the problem in their 'afterward' (a kind of end-of-book preface) but in tackling the problem better than most by ensuring rapid publication. The main text contains references to work published up to 1990, and a last-minute update on the viral origin of self-'superantigens', included as an appendix, contains 1991 references. There are two other appendices, which summarize the one-letter code for amino acids (including mnemonics), and (very usefully) the distribution and nature of molecules delineated by the human CD designation system. There is also a short list of abbreviations and a glossary. By contrast to the comprehensive list of contents, the index is somewhat disappointing. For example, under 'neutrophil' only a single page reference is given, despite numerous mentions of neutrophils elsewhere. For a book intended to be used by nonimmunologists, this is something of a disadvantage. In conclusion, a decision on whether to buy this book will depend largely upon whether one is attracted by the authors' unusual method of presentation. For those who like their immunology 'straight', and find the authors' style too discursive, there are probably better choices, and cell biologists in particular may prefer the new book by Abbas et al. 1, which concentrates on cellular and molecular aspects. However, if the 'story' element helps to bring the subject alive, then this book may well succeed in keeping the reader interested where others have failed.
TRENDS IN CELL BIOLOGY VOL. 2 JANUARY1992
Reference 1 ABBAS,A. K., LICHTMANN,A. H. and POBER,J. S. (1991) Cellularand Molecular Immunology,W. B. Saunders
Michel Caboche Laboratoire de Biologie Cellu!aire INFR, F 78026 VersaillesCedex, France.
)eremy H, Brock Department of Immunology, Western Infirmary, Glasgow G11 6NT, UK. 33
Plant Physiology By V Verma Pdf Download
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