Evolutionary Processes and Theory. Edited by Samuel Karlin And

Book reviews 176

It is clear that this book will be of interest primarily main topics - which must have added much to the to investigators wishing to make transgenic mice. The labours of the organizers and those who had to keep techniques for making transgenic mice are founded in on unpacking and repacking their luggage. Darwinism embryology and are now well established, although (both eo- and neo-) is still very much alive and spreads complicated. Those who wish to use these techniques its tentacles into every corner of biology, as a glance are by and large, molecular biologists, not embry- through this book illustrates. In fact, almost any ologists. Given this, the methods were ripe for writing biochemical or genetic (molecular or populational) up in detail. Indeed, this book was originally due for research can readily be shown to have evolutionary publication over a year before it finally appeared. implications and lead to a workshop paper. It would be wrong to give the impression that the The range of the 33 fairly substantial papers manual will be of use only to ' transgeneticists' as the (average 24 pages) collected here is very wide, with a range of techniques covered is very comprehensive. strong bias towards mathematically oriented theory, A great many embryologists will find it useful. A but it by no means covers all the main areas of current successful laboratory manual needs to be robust, well evolutionary interest, or gives an adequate picture of presented, clearly written and concise. The comb those areas which are discussed. Most of the papers binding allows the book to be opened flat at any page, resemble research reports rather than reviews, and without risk of it closing or of pages falling out. The make no allowance for new readers not already presentation is excellent, with many clear illustrations. blessed with the proper background. Almost any fairly The text is a little patchy, some protocols being given knowledgeable reader, however, will find several with too little information. In most of these cases topics of interest, and the book is well worth sampling. appropriate references are given to fill in the gaps. For There are six main section headings, I. Evolution the majority of the techniques described, the protocols Problems of Molecular Biology; II. Tempo and Mode should be sufficient. in Molecular Evolution; III. Comparative Analysis One problem with this book is a consequence of of DNA and Protein Sequences; IV. Models and its clarity. Many of the protocols are technically diffi- Evidence of Speciation; and Population Genetics cult, the conciseness and lucidity of the descriptions divided into V. Observation, Experiment and Theory suggests the opposite. This is a feature well worth and VI. Ecological and Behavioural Interactions. coming to terms with as the techniques will certainly These main headings are not realistically descriptive be easier with the manual than without it. of the sectional contents, and the choice of papers As a laboratory manual, the book is well worth the within each section is a little idiosyncratic, not to say price. I would recommend it to anyone embarking wayward. As an example Section II listed above on embryo manipulation experiments. MANIPU- contains articles on hybrid dysgenesis, by Margaret LATING THE MOUSE EMBRYO is however, more Kidwell (a good review but not entirely new) 'The than just a laboratory manual. Approximately a spread and success of non-Darwinian novelties', by quarter of the book is devoted to background Gabriel Dover-this article might be subtitled 'In developmental biology and genetics. This puts many praise of molecular drive and molecular coevolution', of the techniques in context and provides a useful and its difficult speculative theme has been and will source of up-to-date information. Indeed, this book is be much exposed elsewhere-'Population genetics probably unique in its coverage of mammalian theory of multigene families with emphasis on genetic developmental biology, and will be welcomed by variation contained in the family', by Tomoko Ohta anyone who has tried to plough through embryology (extending her previous mathematical analysis), and texts in search of information relevant to mammals. In 'Statistical aspects of the molecular clock', by John the preface, the authors state ' It is to help catalyze the Gillespie (his previous theme that molecular evolution interaction between molecular biology and mam- is an episodic process). malian embryology that this manual has been written.' Section III on DNA and protein sequence analysis I am sure that this aim will be fulfilled. includes Michael Clegg et al. on chloroplast evolution PAUL SIMONS in barley, Alan Templeton on a statistical analysis of Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Research molecular data bearing on the relationships of the Edinburgh Research Station great apes and man: overall these favour the theory West Mains Road that gorillas and chimpanzees had a common ancestor Edinburgh EH9 3JQ after the human lineage split off, as opposed to the theory that humans and chimpanzees had a common ancestor after the gorilla lineage split off, but not all Evolutionary Processes and Theory. Edited by SAMUEL sets of data point the same way. There are also KARLIN and EVIATAR NEVO. Academic Press, New theoretical papers by Wen-Hsiung Li, Walter Fitch York. 1986. 786 pages. Hardback £52, Paperback and Samuel Karlin. Articles in Section IV on £29. ISBN 0 12 398760 1 hardback; 0 12 398761 X speciation discuss sexual selection in the Hawaiian paperback. Drosophilids (Hampton Carson), Allopatric and This book is the product of a workshop which moved non-allopatric speciation (Bush and Howard), The among five different universities in Israel to discuss its subterranean mole rats of Israel (Nevo), Drosophila

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.35.93, on 26 Sep 2021 at 11:54:25, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016672300026987 Book reviews 177 speciation in the Hawaiian Islands (Templeton), and unworthy of minute examination and loving reporting. speciation of hummingbird flower mites, elsewhere The standard of work has been high and the Journal described as stowaways on the hummingbird express is superbly edited and produced. However, much as (Colwell). one admires the dedication of those who engage in this The two last sections on Population Genetics type of very necessary investigation, their reports can include papers on Mitochondrial DNA, Habitat be awfully dull reading for the interested onlooker. preference in Drosophila, Suez canal migration- The proceedings in this book represent the Society's which way, what kind of species and why?, Evolution- attempts to come to terms with the 'new genetics'. ary genetics of HLA, Gaussian versus non-Gaussian A symposium on recombinant DNA includes some analyses of polygenic mutation-selection balance (an useful contributions from Sue Malcolm and Marcus illuminating discussion by Michael Turelli), The Pembrey on principles of gene probing, chapters Gaussian approximation for random genetic drift, on phenylketonuria and aj-antitrypsin deficiency by W. D. Hamilton on Instability and cycling of two Savio Woo, ornithine-transcarbamylase deficiency by competing hosts with two parasites (I found this as Lee Rosenberg, and an interesting short account obscure as much modern music), some more math- of the role of homologous recombination in gene ematics of altruistic behaviour, a mathematical model insertion by Oliver Smithies. However, these chapters for the evolution of learning, and genetic models of are already substantially out of date and the interested endosperm evolution in higher plants. reader will have to check Nature or Proceedings of the I have failed to mention several possibly important National Academy of Sciences to see where the subject articles, but potential readers with an interest in the is now. Apart from the recombinant DNA section, more mathematical aspects of evolutionary studies which takes up the first third of the book, the and speculation may be encouraged by my listing of remaining papers are detailed descriptions of the titles to examine the book or buy it in paperback. I enzymology of the rare and the vanishing rare. cannot say that it should be purchased by all Genetics I welcome the attempt by SSIEM to put a tentative Department libraries, but at least the (comparatively) foot into the cold water of molecular biology. It must cheap paperback edition makes it available for those seem an alien world to many of its members. But one with a strong interest in many of the topics listed. No thing is clear: if the Society continues with its interest doubt articles in this compendium will soon get into in DNA, it will have to stop publishing the proceedings the references in future papers, but most of what is of its annual meetings in hardback form. There was included can be extracted from other publications, little enough justification for this in the past, given the with a little patience. availability of the same material in supplements of ERIC REEVE the Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease. With the Department of Genetics accelerating pace of progress in molecular biology, University of Edinburgh hardback proceedings are hopelessly dated by the time they appear. I could not, therefore, recommend this book to either individual readers or science libraries. Practical Developments in Inherited Metabolic Disease: D. J. H. BROCK DNA Analysis, Phenylketonuria and Screening for Human Genetics Congenital Adrenal Hypoplasia. Edited by G. M. Western General Hospital ADDISON, R. A. HARKNESS, D. M. ISHERWOOD and Edinburgh EH4 2XU R. J. POLLITT. MTP Press Limited. 1986. 335 pages. £50.00. ISBN 0 85200 690 X. This oddly titled book is, as the contents page makes Fourteenth Symposium on Nucleic Acids Chemistry. clear, the proceedings of the 23rd Annual Symposium Held in Tokushima, Japan. 30 October to 1 of the Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of November 1986. Nucleic Acids Symposium Series Metabolism (SSIEM), held in September 1985. The No. 17, IRL Press Ltd. Oxford. 272 pages. £27, $49. assembled papers have already been published as ISBN 1 85221 003 6. two supplements to the Journal of Inherited Metabolic This is a special symposium edition of the journal Disease. Membership of SSIEM includes subscription Nucleic Acids Research. It is principally of interest to the Journal and all its supplements and costs £25.00 to research workers in the areas of biological and per year. The above book costs £50.00. For those who pharmaceutical chemistry. The volume contains a are interested, there are obvious financial advantages great deal of innovative science but is generally short in applying for membership of SSIEM. of experimental detail. I feel sure that any important Until quite recently, meetings of this Society have work appearing here will have already surfaced or will tended to concentrate on the detailed enzymology shortly be seen in other scientific journals. A quick of those genetic disorders whose rarity allows the scan reveals some interesting statistics. Of the 235 investigators to outnumber the patients. No aspect contributors, 230 are Japanese, 4 American and 1 of seramidase deficiency, Zellweger's syndrome or Belgian. This is not, then, an international symposium. short-chain fatty-acid oxidation defect was considered On the positive side the 60 scientific papers on nucleic