Bacterial And Bacteriophage Genetics

A comprehensive introduction to this rapidly advancing subject. This fourth edition has been extensively revised and reorganized to reflect advances in the field. All of the major topics in modern bacterial and bacteriophage genetics are presented, including mutations and mutagenesis; genetics of lytic and temperate bacterial viruses; transduction; genetic transformation; conjugation and plasmids; regulatory systems; recombination and repair; probability analysis in bacterial genetic experiments; applied basic genetics; evolutionary genetics. This new edition includes a greater discussion of evolutionary issues and contains problem sets at the ends of each chapter to test students'understanding.

Bacterial genetics has become one of the cornerstones of basic and applied microbiology and has contributed key knowledge for many of the fundamental advances of modern biology. The second edition of this comprehensive yet concise text, first published in 1981, has been thoroughly updated and redesigned to account for new developments in this rapidly expanding field. All of the major topics in modern bacterial and bacteriophage genetics are presented, among them mutations and mutagenesis, genetics of T4 bacteriophage and other intemperate and temperate phages, transduction, transformation, conjugation and plasmids, recombination and repair, probability laws for prokaryote cultures, as well as applied bacterial genetics.

Genetic investigations and manipulations of bacteria and bacteriophage have made vital contributions to our basic understanding of living cells and to the development of molecular biology and biotechnology. This volume is a survey of the genetics of bacteria and their viruses, and it provides students with a comprehensive introduction to this rapidly changing subject. The book is written for upper level undergraduates and beginning graduate students, particularly those who have had an introductory genetics course. The fifth edition has been extensively revised to reflect recent advances in the field. The book now has a reader-friendly look, with end-of-chapter questions, "Thinking Ahead" and "Applications" boxes to challenge students’ comprehension and insights. A complete glossary of commonly used terms has been revised and expanded.

This book is intended for the student who is taking a first course in bacterial and bacteriophage genetics, rather than as a reference tool for the specialist. It presumes a knowledge of basic biology as weIl as familiarity with general genetics. Extensive knowledge of microbiology, although helpful, is not essen tial for a good understanding of the material presented herein. In order to develop the basic concepts of bacterial and bacteriophage genetics in a volume of reasonable size, I have endeavored to avoid the stricdy molecular approach as weIl as the thoroughly comprehensive treatment characteristic of review articles. For simplification and continuity, therefore, I have dealt primarily with Escherichia coli and its phages, except where other bacteria can better illustrate a particular point. This should not, however, be construed to imply that only E. coli is worthy of study. Rather , it is my hope that students will be able to generalize from the principles presented in this book to the specific bacterial systems which may be of more direct interest to them.

Written by eminent international researchers actively involved in the disparate areas of bacteriophage research this book focuses on the current rapid developments in this exciting field.

This book is intended for the student who is taking a first course in bacterial and bacteriophage genetics, rather than as a reference tool for the specialist. It presumes a knowledge of basic biology as weIl as familiarity with general genetics. Extensive knowledge of microbiology, although helpful, is not essen℗Ư tial for a good understanding of the material presented herein. In order to develop the basic concepts of bacterial and bacteriophage genetics in a volume of reasonable size, I have endeavored to avoid the stricdy molecular approach as weIl as the thoroughly comprehensive treatment characteristic of review articles. For simplification and continuity, therefore, I have dealt primarily with Escherichia coli and its phages, except where other bacteria can better illustrate a particular point. This should not, however, be construed to imply that only E. coli is worthy of study. Rather, it is my hope that students will be able to generalize from the principles presented in this book to the specific bacterial systems which may be of more direct interest to them.

An introduction to genetics; The elements of genetic analysis; The integration of genetics and biochemistry; The analysis of genetic fine structure in microorganisms; Mutation in bacteria; The physico-chemical mechanisms of heredity; The physiology and genetics of bacteriophage and bacteria.