Molecular Biology Of Plant Tumors

Molecular Biology of Plant Tumors provides an opportunity to learn in detail about the latest insights into the mechanism of transformation of plant cells by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The study of the molecular mechanism responsible for the crown gall phenomenon (induced by Agrobacterium tumefaciens) illustrates the point that the fundamental study of the cause(s) and mechanism(s) of abnormal growth might be one of the most efficient ways to understand cellular differentiation and the molecular basis of gene expression. The book is organized into three parts that contain research on abnormal plant growth, crown gall tumors, and potential vectors for genetic engineering in agriculture. The genetic structure responsible for the neoplasmic transformation of plant cells in crown galls is a bacterial plasmid (called Ti for tumor-inducing). Research described in this volume demonstrates that these Ti plasmids were designed by evolution as natural gene vectors with which some bacteria can introduce active genes into plants. These transferred genes are maintained by integration in the plant genome and their expression is directly or indirectly responsible for the tumorous growth pattern.

Molecular Biology of Cancer has been extensively revised and covers heredity cancer, microarray technology and increased study of childhood cancers. It continues to provide a detailed overview of the process which lead to the development and proliferation of cancer cells, including the techniques available for their study. It also describes the means by which tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes may be used in the diagnosis and in determining the prognosis of a wide variety of cancers, including breast, genitourinary, lung and gastrointestinal cancer.

The Ninth Annual Pezcoller Symposium entitled "The Biology of Tumors" was held in Rovereto, Italy, June 4-7, 1997. It focused on the genetic mechanisms underlying het erogeneity of tumor cell populations and tumor cell differentiation, on interactions be tween tumor cells and cells of host defenses, and the mechanisms of angiogenesis. With presentations at the cutting edge of progress and stimulating discussions, this symposium addressed issues related to phenomena concerned with cell regulation and cell interactions as determined by activated genes through the appropriate and timely media tion of gene products. Important methodologies that would allow scientists to measure dif ferentially genes and gene products and thus validate many of the mechanisms of control currently proposed were considered, as were the molecular basis of tumor recognition by the immune system, interactions between cells and molecular mechanisms of cell regula tion as they are affected by or implemented through these interactions. The molecular and cellular mechanisms of tumor vascularization were also discussed. It was recognized that angiogenesis provides a potential site of therapeutic intervention and this makes it even more important to understand the mechanisms underlying it. We wish to thank the participants in the symposium for their substantial contribu tions and their participation in the spirited discussions that followed. We would also like to thank Drs.

The Molecular Biology of Cancer discusses the state of progress in the molecular biology of cancer. The book describes the effects of anticancer agents on nucleolar ultrastructure; the role of chromosomes in the causation and progression of cancer and leukemia; the replication, modification, and repair of DNA. The text also describes the metabolism and utilization of messenger RNA and other high molecular weight RNA and low molecular weight nuclear RNA; the characteristics, structures, and functions of nuclear proteins; and the process of protein synthesis. Nucleotides are reviewed with regard ...

Plant Growth and Development: A Molecular Approach presents the field of plant development from both molecular and genetic perspectives. This field has evolved at a rapid rate over the past five years through the increasing exploitation of the remarkable plant Arabidopsis. The small genome, rapid life cycle, and ease of transformation of Arabidopsis, as well as the relatively large number of laboratories that are using this plant for their research, have lead to an exponential increase in information about plant development mechanisms. In Plant Growth and Development: A Molecular Approach Professor Fosket synthesizes this flood of new information in a way that conveys to students the excitement of this still growing field. His textbook is based on notes developed over more than ten years of teaching a course on the molecular analysis of plant growth and development and assumes no special knowledge of plant biology. It is intended for advanced undergraduates in plant development, as well as those in plant molecular biology. Graduate students and researchers who are just beginning to work in the field will also find much valuable information in this book. Each chapter concludes with questions for study and review as well as suggestions for further reading. Illustrated with two-color drawings and graphs throughout, and containing up-to-date and comprehensive coverage, Plant Growth and Development: A Molecular Approach will excite and inform students as it increases their understanding of plant science. * * Presents plant development from a molecular and cellular perspective * Illustrates concepts with two-colour diagrams throughout * Offers key study questions and guides to further reading within each chapter * Gives an up-to-date and thorough treatment of this increasingly important subject area * Derived from the author's many years of teaching plant developmental biology

To gain a complete overview of what is presently known about molecular carcinogenesis would prove to be a very daunting task for those not already steeped in this complex subject. Fortunately, David Warshawsky and Joseph Landolph Jr., both highly respected for their own contributions to the field, know exactly whom to call upon to fulfill the need