MISCELLANEA

satellite repeat markers. These markers have become immensely important in forensic science, gen- etic mapping and clinical diagnosis; their inclusion here should be valu- able for students and clinicians alike. Chapter 3 concentrates on higher resolution of DNA organization, par- ticularly at the level of sequencing, and also explains amplification of DNA using the polymerase chain reaction.

The next three chapters consider the various approaches to cloning DNA. They provide a useful back- ground on the pros and cons of dif- ferent vector systems used in Escherichia coil A good account is also given of the construction and use of cDNA and genomic libraries. The book then turns to techniques available for cloning in higher organisms, in particular the use of yeast artificial chromosomes and the construction of transgenic mam- mals.

By way of a concluding chapter, the authors speculate on the future prospects provided by genetic engi- neering. This chapter is based firmly on science fact rather than being tempted into the realms of science fiction. The danger of this is that the future prospects mentioned may

soon become achievements and the book could rapidly date.

Throughout the book exper- imental details are given at a level high enough to give the reader a true feel for the possibilities and limi- tations associated with the various techniques. General biochemistry textbooks often leave students with a rather fanciful idea of what genetic engineering allows us to do, and a mistaken belief that to clone an un- known gene, understand the associ- ated genetic defect and devise a therapy is merely a week's work. While by no means providing a sub- stitute for laboratory manuals such as the near-ubiquitous 'Maniatis '1, Genetic Engineering gives a realistic picture of the amount of effort in- volved in carrying out experimental work and highlights some of the problems encountered, for example the concept of unclonable DNA a,,d rearrangements of cloned DNA by coil

Gooo and extensive use is made of diagrams throughout the book. Overall the diagrams are clear and informative. However, out of the few mistakes I noticed several were in the diagrams. These are unlikely to mislead the reader, although the inconsistent colour usage in a sub-

cloning scheme could lead to con- fusion. The book also fails to use the accepted convention for oncogene nomenclature, i.e. the writing of MYC instead of myc. Hopefully these mistakes will be rectified in any future editions. My major complaint would be that throughout the book and particularly in Chapter 1 the authors have found it necessary to use terms early in the text while nc • explaining them until several pages later. However, in such an account this is often unavoidable and most of these terms are defined briefly in a glossary.

In conclusion, this book attempts to cover a huge subject area in a short space. It has achieved its aim admirably and would be a worth- while purchase for both clinicians and undergraduates alike. Whether it caters for the third readership group, that of new researchers, is debatable. They would probably be better served by the laboratory manuals.

Reference 1 SAMBROOK, J., FRITSCH, E. F. and

MANIATIS, T. (1989) Molecular Cloning - A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press

Robert A. Brooksbank

Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, UK CB2 1QW.

Fluid prose in honour of Chapman

Structural and Dynamic Properties of Lipids and

Membranes

edited by P. J. Quinn and R. I. Cherry, Portland Press, 1992.

£42.50/US$80.00 (200 pages) ISBN 1 85578 014 3

Sycophantic reminiscences of work- ing with Dennis Chapman do not form any part of this compendium of research chapters in honour of the achievement he has made to membrane research. Quite the con- trary, Structural and Dynamic Proper-

ties of Lipids and Membranes is a col- lection of generally up-to-date re- search reviews by former colleagues, which demonstrate that his influence on biomembrane and lipid research is indisputable. Almost every biophy- sical method that has been devel- oped sufficiently for application to lipid bilayers or biomembranes was utilized at the earliest moment by Chapman and co-workers, and many are reviewed here.

A seminal paper in 1966 by Chap- man and Penkett 1 now looks very dated, but the early recognition by Chapman that cholesterol affects membrane fluidity was crucial for understanding the biological activity of cholesterol, as two chapters show. G. Lipka, D. Imfeld, G. Schulthess, H. Thurnhofer and H. Hauser describe the protein-mediated absorption of cholesterol by small-intestinal brush- border membranes, and M. C. Phillips gives a useful update on cholesterol exchangeability between mem- branes, including the consequences

in the development of atherosclerosis. Indeed, over half a page of index is required for cholesterol, more than any other topic, and this reflects Chapman's long-held interest in this steml. No author actually contradicts Chapman's statement in Chapter 1 that 'there was no particular complex of lipid and cholesterol', but this view is not held by all in the field.

Membrane-protein activity and its modulation are discussed by K. M. W. Keough, showing that membrane 'fluidity' is necessary for function. In- vasive modulation of biomembrane chemistry and fluidity, through al- teration of the degree of acyi-chain saturation, is reviewed by P. I. Quinn, who also discusses the usefulness of polyrnerizable lipids in protein re- constitution and in drug reactors. Another innovative use of lipid properties, the production ef haemo- compatible surfaces, is described clearly by Y. P. Yianni. The appreci- ation of the inert property of phos- phorylcholine, a major component

TRENDS IN CELL BIOLOGY VOL. 3 AUGUST 1993 283

MISCELLANEA

Anthony Watts

Department of Biochemistry, University of

Oxford, South Parks Road,

Oxford, UK OXl 3QU.

of the outer leaflet of many biomembranes, led to the foun- dation of Biocompatibles Limited, which Chapman set up in 1987. Big- and haemocompatibility of plastic devices such as catheters and con- tact lenses is achieved through etch- ing phosphorylcholine into their sur- faces thereby reducing surface reactivity, an idea that everyone wishes they had thought of. The lesson that nature has taught us is thus well taken.

Bilayers are not the only form that lipids can take in aqueous dispersion and G. Lindblom and L. Rilfors bring this now mature area of poly- morphism up to date. Although we are still waiting for some good in- dication of real biological relevance, the area is of great interest to physical chemists. H. Mantsch and colleagues review, in a very authoritative and contemporary way, the use of Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy to study lipids and lipid-protein interactions. D. Lee presents the new ideas, many of which were generated recently by Chapman and his group, on the use of FTIR to resolve membrane-protein structure by comparison with pro- teins of known structure, an area that is new and has yet to prove to be routine for studying membrane proteins.

Only two chapters in the book take an historical approach. The develop- ment of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to study lipid bilayers and membranes is written in a lucid and very lively manner, aimed at the non.expert, by Eric Oldfield. There is information in this chapter that would not be readily found else- where. For example, the relatively new method of cross-polarization magic angle spinning NMR to spec- trally edit rigid and mobile groups in membranes is described at a basic level. In very sharp contrast, the pseudohistorical chapter on lipid- protein interactions by I. C. G6mez- Fernandez and I. Villalafn contains factual errors, aged references, con- tradictions and prejudices. Contra- dictions can be found within single sentences, for example, '...there is no evidence to support a stoichio- metric annulus or boundary layer permanently bouncl to intrinsic pro- teins, even if they are in dynamic exchange with bulk lipids'. Not only does this not make sense, it reflects a less than competent appreciation of the consensus in the field, regard- less of technique or system.

The determination of protein mobility in membranes by K. Razi Naqui and R. J. Cherry, and by Chapman himself, depended upon a principle previously acknowledged by Chapman (repeated in Chapter 1), and that is, if you need a mol- ecule for a specific application or study, then make it - don't rely upon commercial availability. Thus, triplet probes, which had to be syn- thesized in the lab, and their use in membrane-protein dynamics, are presented with clarity by Cherry, and, most importantly, the extension of biophysical results to molecular interpretations is emphasized.

Most areas and methods for the study of membranes have been covered in this volume without the complexities of explaining the methodology itself, which is a trib- ute to the editors. This book, with others to cover its one weakness at least, could form a good basis for a graduate or undergraduate teaching programme in membrane structure and dynamics, despite the bias to cholesterol.

Reference 1 CHAPMAN, D. and PENKETr, S. A.

(1966) Nature 211, 1304-1305

Sexually active genes

Genes in Mammalian Reproduction

edited by R. B. L. Gwatkin, Wiley.Liss, 1993. £99.95 (x + 301

pages) ISBN 04 71561460

The revolution in DNA technology is having an impact on all areas of big. logical science, not least repro- ductive biology. In his preface to Genes in Mammalian Reproduction, Ralph Gwatkin emphasizes the im- portance of the molecular biological approach in reproductive studies but laments the fact that 'few reproduc- tive biologists are presently con- tributing to these developments'. He intends this book to be a stimulus for the reproductive community to trade in their radioimmunoassays for a set of restriction enzymes. How far does Genes in Mammalian Repro- duction succeed in this aim?

One consequence of the ex- plosion in molecular biological re- search is the proliferation of infor- mation on specific genes. Genes are being cloned at a furious rate and the publication of details of their nucleotide sequences, species distri- butions and patterns of tissue expression is far outstripping our ability to understand their biological functions. When asked to review the

molecular biology of a field such as reproduction, the natural tendency is to review all of the genes whose pattern of expression suggests that they may have some connection with the subject in hand. The result can be a rather sterile list that bears little relationship to the underlying principles of biological function. This scenario has been reproduced in several chapters of this book with disappointing results. Topics such as spermatogenesis (Erickson), oogenesis (KInloch and Wassarman) and preim- plantation development (Kidder) are dealt with by providing lists of genes that may or may not be significant. It is unclear to whom such lists are directed. The novice entering the field is likely to become completely lost in these disjointed accounts, and would first need to seek the prin- ciples of reproductive function from more conventional accounts. The expert reader might find the lists useful as a means of entering the literature but the inevitable brevity of treatment of each gene means that further extensive reading on any specific subject would be necessary to gain a complete view. It is debat- able whether the information im- parted by these particular chapters could not have been equally achieved by the use of a series of tables, .~s provided by a few of tile authors, together with a list of refer- ences.

Other chapters are devoted to specific molecules such as inhibin, activin and follistatin (Ying and Murata), and steroid hormones and their receptors (Ing, Tsai and Tsai). Here we are presented with a wealth

284 TRENDS IN CELL BIOLOGY VOL. 3 AUGUST 1993