Mobile DNA: Finding Treasure in Junk
- By Haig H. Kazazian
- Published Mar 21, 2011 by FT Press. Part of the FT Press Science series.
- Copyright 2011
- Dimensions: 6" x 9"
- Pages: 288
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-13-707062-4
- ISBN-13: 978-0-13-707062-6
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Product Author Bios
Haig Kazazian (Baltimore) has recently returned as professor to the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. He had been Seymour Gray Professor of Molecular Medicine in Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He has long been one of the leading workers in the field of mobile DNA, and is among the most highly regarded human geneticists.
This book thoroughly reviews our current scientific understanding of the significant role that mobile genetic elements play in the evolution and function of genomes and organisms–from plants and animals to humans. Highly-regarded geneticist Haig Kazazian offers an accessible intellectual history of the field’s research strategies and concerns, explaining how advances opened up new questions, and how new tools and capabilities have encouraged progress in the field.
Kazazian introduces the key strategies and approaches taken in leading laboratories (including his own) to gain greater insight into the large proportion of our genome that derives from mobile genetic elements, including viruses, plasmids, and transposons. He also presents intriguing insights into long-term research strategies that may lead to an even deeper understanding.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
probably more than most people will want to know about the subject!,
This review is from: Mobile DNA: Finding Treasure in Junk (FT Press Science) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This is a very thorough and up-to-date review of the current knowledge regarding mobile DNA, or "jumping genes". Mobile DNA was first discovered in 1950 by Barbara McClintock, who was initially greeted with skepticism but eventually was rewarded with the Nobel Prize for her work in this area. The various types of mobile DNA make up a substantial percentage of the total genome of many life forms, but their role in evolution and whether they influence fitness under natural selection is still unclear.The author is a true expert in his field. He exhaustively covers the topic, perhaps too exhaustively. I found myself initially intrigued by the first few chapters, which present a nice overview of mobile DNA and the major unanswered questions in the field, but then I became progressively less interested as subsequent chapters covered increasingly specialized "niche" aspects, most of no apparent relevance to anything beyond the molecular biology of mobile DNA itself. The author... Read more
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Charles Darwin Would Be Surprised!,
This review is from: Mobile DNA: Finding Treasure in Junk (FT Press Science) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This is really a text book on Mobile DNA for students of molecular biology, biochemistry, genetic medicine and molecular genetics. The author, Haig Kazazian, a Professor of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, presents the history of DNA research in a highly detailed, well researched, and scholarly manner.The emphasis, however, is not on the actual science, per se, (although the science is very much present) but rather on the historical context, the inter-relationship of the many scientists whose brilliance, hard work, commitment and collegial communication and close relationships have contributed to our present day understanding of this extraordinarily important field. Scientific understanding is built one arduous step at a time, with current and future research based on the total of the massive collective knowledge that preceded it. Breakthroughs in science owe their debt to the painstaking research of those who came before. It is... Read more
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
A Fine Book from one of the world's leading experts on Mammalian Mobile DNA, By
This review is from: Mobile DNA: Finding Treasure in Junk (FT Press Science) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Professor Kazazian's specialties are in population genetics of active L1 retrotransposons in humans, genome diversity, and of course ultimately human evolution. This 250 page book is a good summation of current research into mobile DNA. Professor Kazazian has a no-frills writing style and sticks to the subject at hand without needless bombardments of arcana or waxing too historical. This makes for a somewhat dry but good read.I also enjoyed the concluding chapter where Kazazian makes some predictions about future discoveries of the science: e.g. most L1 retrotransposition occurs in early development, that retrotransposons have a small but significant role in the etiology of many complex diseases, and that studies of ancient human remains show that the human genome is continuing to expand at between 1 and 10 million base pairs per million years, heavily influenced by retrotransposition. |
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Table of Contents
Preface: Thoughts on Doing Science xii
Chapter 1 Introduction to Mobile DNA 1
Chapter 2 Varieties of Mobile DNA 5
Chapter 3 DNA Transposons 19
Chapter 4 Mobile DNA of Model Organisms 29
Chapter 5 Exceptional Scientists Working on Mobile DNA in Lower Organisms 35
Chapter 6 Role of Bioinformatics in Genome Analysis 43
Chapter 7 The Prologue 49
Chapter 8 “Welcome to the Wonderful World of LINEs” 59
Chapter 9 An Experimental Breakthrough 73
Chapter 10 Reverse Transcriptase to the Rescue 81
Chapter 11 A Quirk of L1 Elements–A Lousy 3’ End Is Important for Genome Evolution 85
Chapter 12 A Tour de Force from Tom Eickbush 89
Chapter 13 “I don’t believe all those colonies represent retrotransposition events.” 93
Chapter 14 L1 Encodes an Endonuclease 101
Chapter 15 The Jocks 105
Chapter 16 The Mayor and the Frenchman 115
Chapter 17 Ostertag’s Coups 121
Chapter 18 The Independent Canadian 133
Chapter 19 The Musician Scientist 141
Chapter 20 Young Ladies in the Back Bay 145
Chapter 21 The Brilliant Young Lady from China 157
Chapter 22 Hiroki’s Big Surprises 163
Chapter 23 A Young Man with a Purpose 173
Chapter 24 Other Mobile DNA in Mammalian Genomes 179
Chapter 25 Effects of Retrotransposons on Mammalian Genomes 187
Chapter 26 Host Factors Involved in L1 Retrotransposition 201
Chapter 27 Why Mobile DNA? 207
Chapter 28 The Future of Mobile DNA Research 209
Chapter 29 Predictions for Mobile DNA 221
References 225
Glossary 249
Index 255
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