Genetica (1969) 40: 600-604

BOOK REVIEWS

Strahlengenetik der Sduger by F. VOGEL, G. R 6 H R B O N N , E. SCHLEIER- MACHER and T. SCHROEDER. Georg Thieme Verlag: Stuttgart, 1969. (VIII, 80 Pp., 11 Figs., 21 Tabs. 27.50 DM).

The subt i t Ie of th is work reads " w i t h par t i cu la r reference to t he mouse a n d i ts s ignificance for the p rob lem of m u t a t i o n in m a n " and th i s ap t l y describes bo th

t he scope of t he book and, inc identa l ly , i ts l imi ta t ion . The m o n o g r a p h is a w o r k m a n l i k e p r e sen t a t i on of research on s p o n t a n e o u s and

induced m u t a t i o n in t he m o u s e (nlainly) and in t he rat . The theme , of course, is

topical and of i m p o r t a n c e to m a n because of the increas ing use of X- r ay mach ine s and ionizing ma te r i a l s in medic ine and indus t ry , no t to m e n t i o n the potent ia l

t h r e a t of a tomic fal l-out . The genet ic haza rd s of i r radia t ion have been appreci- a t ed since t he 1930's b u t apprec ia t ion alone is insuff icient . The ques t ion h a d to be t ack led in such a m a n n e r t h a t val id q u a n t i t a t i v e d a t a could be obta ined. For

var ious technica l reasons, t he house mouse ha s emerged as t he mos t useful

m a m m a l i a n sub jec t for th i s purpose . The seven sect ions of t he book cover m o s t of t he topics gern lane to t he in-

duc t ion and de tec t ion of ge rmina l m u t a t i o n . The success ive phases of t he

spe rma togen ic cycle are br ief ly reviewed in an open ing section. This is followed b y an accoun t of obse rva t ions on spon t aneous m u t a t i o n . Succeeding sect ions t h e n consider in more detai l m o s t aspec t s of m u t a t i o n induced by X- r ays and

g a m m a radia t ion. This is dea l t w i th u n d e r th ree m a i n head ings : genet ic (mu- t a t ion a t specific loci, e s t ima t ion of le tha l m u t a t i o n in t he au to somes or X ch romosome by va r ious methods) , cy togene t ic (d isrupt ion of meiosis, chromo-

some breakage leading to deficiensis and t rans loca t ions , nond i s junc t ion leading to monosomics and t r isomics) and popu la t ion genet ics ( t rends in m e a n l i t ter size,

sex ratio, f ecund i ty and s ter i l i ty u n d e r reg imes of pro longed i r radiat ion) . The closing sect ion is a ser ious a t t e m p t to relate t he conclus ions of th is ex tens ive

research on t he mouse to m a n k i n d . The s tyle of wr i t ing is concise but , never the less , adequa t e and a va s t a m o u n t

of work is s u m m a r i z e d b y compac t tables . The f indings of the RUSSXLLS, OAKBERO and associa tes a t Oak Ridge and t h a t of CARTER, SEARLE and associ-

a tes a t Harwel l f ea tu re p rominen t ly , as could scarcely be otherwise. However , th i s is no t to sugges t t h a t research of o ther workers is neglec-

ted. In fact, t h e su rvey of the l i te ra ture is ve ry good a n d t he m o n o g r a p h

BOOK REVIEWS 601

will be useful on th i s coun t alone. The mouse is an ideal m a m m a l for work on rad ia t ion genet ics and i t is un l ike ly t h a t a n o t h e r species will come to r ival the

wea l th of d a t a which is now available. I t is dif f icul t to f au l t the belief t h a t f u n d a m e n t a l l y , a t least , t he resu l t s wi th mice can be carr ied over to m a n . B o t h a re complex m a m m a l s and t h e order of comp l ex i t y in t he t r ans i t i on f rom m o u s e

to m a n m a y no t be g rea t in m u t a t i o n a l t e rms . Some people have a rgued t h a t differences m a y exis t because of the g rea t difference in t he reproduc t ive cycle.

The long p repube r t a l period of m a n d e m a n d i n g a lower m u t a t i o n rate. This is a m o o t po in t and can only app ly in a n y even t to t he s p o n t a n e o u s rate . T h e response of m a m m a l i a n germ-cel ls to concen t ra t ed bu r s t s of ionizing rad ia t ion

m a y be ident ical regardless of species. The m o n o g r a p h is a p p a r e n t l y pa r t of a m a j o r u n d e r t a k i n g devo ted to ad-

vances in h u m a n genet ics and it m a y well receive a m ixed recept ion f rom th i s

audience. The people more likely to benef i t will be m a m m a l i a n genet ic is ts , pa r t i cu la r ly those who wish to become conve r san t wi th t he resu l t s of mouse rad ia t ion genetics. The general genet ic is t will p robab ly f ind t he t e x t tu rg id and

h e a v y going b u t th is s t e m s direct ly f rom the concise n a t u r e of t he exposi t ion. I t is deba tab le if th is a spec t should be viewed as a faul t . The seeker a f t e r fac ts will f ind th is work of real va lue b u t t he ma i n ti t le m a y mis lead t he o rd ina ry reader

into t h ink ing he is to receive a more genera l d iscuss ion of t he subject .

R o Y ROBINSON (London)

A Glossary o/Genetics and Cytogenetics. Classical and Molecular. B y R .

RIEGER, A. MICHAELIS a n d M. M. GREEN. T h i r d c o m p l e t e l y

r e v i s e d e d i t i o n . S p r i n g e r - V e r l a g , B e r l i n , H e i d e l b e r g , N e w Y o r k

1968. (Pp. 507, 90 figures; Cloth, D M 6 6 . - - ; U . S . ~; 11 .50) .

The title of this book is modest, and does not prepare the reader for the wealth

of information within. Throughout the text there is abundant evidence of the

care and thoroughness with which the authors have carried out their task.

The numerous illustrations are satisfyingly clear and there is little lacking in

the definitions. They are extensive and accurate, past and present meanings of

terms are given, and there are numerous references to the literature -- however,

not necessarily to the papers in which a term was first used. It is a pity that the

references are not even more extensive than they are ; Sex ratio, for example, has none, and centromere distance could have been supplemented by a reference to a paper on the mapping of centromeres in Ascomycetes. The term polaron,

however, as defined by Llssouu~ et al. (1962, ddvanc. Genet., p. 360), is a region within which recombination is exclusively by gene conversion, and not primarily,

as stated in the Glossary. The term regzdatory gene may also mislead, because

(when contrasted with structural gene), it may be supposed that it does not

deternline a primary amino acid sequence. The book is remarkably free from

typographic errors (high negative interference, C~AS~ & DOI~RMAN~ 1988, not

1948).

602 BOOK REVIEWS

These cr i t icisms, however , are minor , and t he Glossary can be w a r m l y r e c o m m e n d e d to all genet icis ts , cy togenet ic i s t s and o ther biologists. I t is,

w i t hou t doubt , t he bes t d ic t ionary of Genet ics avai lable, and all biological l ibraries should have a reference copy a t hand .

A. M. MILLINGTON-WARD (Leiden)

Results and Problems in Cell Di//erentiation; A Series of Topical Volumes in Developmental Biology. Editors: W. BEERMANN, J .

REINERT, H . URSPRUNG; Managing E d i t o r : H . - W . HAGENS. Vol.

.r." The Stability o/ the Di//erentiated State. Edited by H. UNSPRUNG (10 contributors). Springer-Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, New York 1968 (Pp. xlI , 154; 52 Figures, 16 Tables; cloth DM 54.--; U.S.

~2.50).

This is the f i rs t vo lume of a new series of h igh ly topical volumes , which will cons i s t of articIes and shor t m o n o g r a p h s on cent ra l issues in ceil and develop- m e n t a l biology. The edi tors i n t end to review t he following topics in fu tu re

vo lumes : origin and c o n t i n u i t y of ceil organel les; h i s t o c h e m i s t r y in electron mic roscopy ; t he neura l cres t ; t h e chloroplas t ; gene -enzyme s y s t e m s in Droso- phila ; t he deve lopmen ta l biology of imagina l d isks ; t he func t ion of cells w i thou t nuclei ; d i f fe rent ia t ion of cell walls; cell d i f fe ren t ia t ion and p h y t o h o r m o n e s .

I t is the a im of t he ed i tors t h a t each vo l ume should con ta in a collection of

re la ted articles, which e i ther i l lumina te one c o m m o n p rob lem in d i f fe rent a v e n u e s of research (as in t he p re sen t volume), or give a coheren t descr ipt ion of

one suff ic ient ly exploi ted e x p e r i m e n t a l s y s t e m (as e.g. in t he f u t u r e vo lume on imagina l disks). In t he p r e sen t vo l ume t he cent ra l t h e m e is considered f rom di f ferent fields of inves t iga t ion : bo th in v i t ro and in v ivo t i ssue cul ture ; ver te-

bra te , inver tebra te , as well as bo tan ic resea rch ; b o t h e x a m i n a t i o n of cells re ta in ing the i r d i f ferent ia ted s t a t e or thei r capac i ty for d i f ferent ia t ion, and of cells a b a n d o n i n g thei r d i f fe ren t ia ted s ta te (dedifferentiat ion) or sh i f t ing the i r capaci t ies for d i f ferent ia t ion (metaplas ia , t r an sde t e rmina t i on ) . Unfo r tuna t e ly ,

t he close re la t ion of the pape r s has led to some repet i t ion, pa r t i cu la r ly in the in t roduct ions , t he d iscuss ions and t he references. Moreover, t he re is a cer ta in

a m o u n t of s eeming con t roversy , as becomes ev iden t e.g. in t he discuss ion of prol i fera t ion as a condi t ion for d i f ferent ia t ion (p. 2), of prol i fera t ion as a con- di t ion for dedi f fe rent ia t ion (p. 68), and of ded i f fe ren t ia t ion as a condi t ion for

prol i fera t ion (p. I03). As a whole, the book is ve ry well p roduced , and t he repro- duc t ion of t h e n u m e r o u s i l lus t ra t ions is excellent . I t does n o t con ta in a n a u t h o r s ' or sub jec t index.

The f i rs t pape r is by H. HOLTZER & JOAN ABBOTT and deals wi th "Osci l la t ions of t he Chondrogenic P h e n o t y p e in v i t ro . " Charac te r iz ing "d i f f e r en t i a t ed" cells as cells c o m m i t t e d to t he syn thes i s of unessen t i a l or l u x u r y molecules, t h e y

discuss t he "d i f fe ren t ia t ive b e h a v i o u r " of d iv id ing chondrocy tes in vi t ro,

BOOK REVIEWS 603

which express di f ferent aspec t s of the i r genet ic reper toi re u n d e r the inf luence of

m ino r m i c r o - e n v i r o n m e n t a l factors . Re la ted to th i s is t he n e x t pape r b y J. Yv. LAsH on " P h e n o t y p i c Expres s ion and Di f fe ren t ia t ion : in v i t ro Chondrogenes i s . " He descr ibes in v i t ro man i pu l a t i ons of embryon i c chick somi tes cu l tu red in

associa t ion wi th t h e embryon ic spinal cord or no tochord , wh ich induce t he somi tes to fo rm car t i lage; the under ly ing induc t ive m e c h a n i s m s are i n t e rp re t ed as being, no t t he induc t ion of a new syn the t i c p a t h w a y , b u t t he s tab i l i za t ion and

e n h a n c e m e n t of a pre-exis t ing chondrogenic proc l iv i ty in t he somi tes . J. R. ~THITTAKER follows wi th an art icle on " T h e N a t u r e and Probab le Cause of

IVIodulations in P i g m e n t Cell Cu l tu res" , in which he shows t h a t embryon i c chick re t ina l p i g m e n t cells are capable of losing specific gene express ion (loss of mela- not ic p h e n o t y p e a f te r cul tur ing) for reasons no t d i rect ly re la ted to t he regula t ion

of gene ac t iv i ty (but p robab l y re la ted to messenge r R N A t r ans l a t i on in t he cell). The n e x t pape r deals wi th "Clonal Aspects of Muscle D e v e l o p m e n t and t he

Stabi l i ty of t he Di f fe ren t i a t ed S ta te" , and is b y S. D. HAUSCHKA. He discusses the co l lagen-media ted in te rac t ion be tween f ib rob las t s and m y o b l a s t s in cu l tu res

of chick skeletal muscle , pa r t i cu la r ly its b iochemical a spec t s and t he unde r ly ing genet ic regulat ion. This is followed b y an ar t ic le b y R. D. CAHN on " F a c t o r s

Affec t ing Inhe r i t ance and Expres s ion of Di f fe ren t ia t ion : Some Methods of Ana lys i s" , in which he deals wi th t he following fac tors in t he s tabi l iza t ion of the d i f ferent ia ted s t a t e in chick cells: e n v i r o n m e n t a l fac tors needed for m a x i m a l express ion of a cell 's abi l i ty to d i f fe ren t ia te ; t h e (seemingly) nega t ive effects of

h igh ra te of g r o w t h and rap id D N A syn thes i s ; and t he molecu la r m e c h a n i s m s wi th in t he cell. I n t he ar t ic le by ELIZABETH D. HAY on "Ded i f f e ren t i a t ion and Metaplas ia in Ver t eb ra t e and I n v e r t e b r a t e R e g e n e r a t i o n " t he a u t h o r e m p h a -

sizes t he revers ib i l i ty of d i f fe rent ia t ion as s h o w n in regenera t ion expe r imen t s , which e l imina tes t he necess i ty of pos tu l a t i ng t he presence of " r e s e r v e ceils" to

expla in regenera t ion ; th i s in its t u r n implies t h e poss ibi l i ty of m e t a p l a s i a in regenera t ing sys t ems , a l t h o u g h evidence for i ts occur rence is still f r a g m e n t a r y . HaY discusses possible genet ic m e c h a n i s m s control l ing regenera t ion , pa r t i cu la r ly in connec t ion wi th prol i fera t ion and D N A replicat ion.

The series is concluded b y th ree pape r s on n o n - v e r t e b r a t e sys t ems , beg inn ing wi th " T h e Acquis i t ion, Main tenance , and Lab i l i ty of t he Di f fe ren t i a t ed S ta t e in

Hydra" by A. L. BURNETT. He also shows t h a t t he d i f fe ren t ia ted s t a t e is reversi- ble, i ts origin and s tab i l i ty in Hydra cells being d e p e n d e n t on t he presence of an inducer - inh ib i to r gradient , which can be u p s e t b y a control led ionic env i ron-

m e n t ; in v i t ro cu l tu r ing in such an e n v i r o n m e n t b r ings ou t t h e in te res t ing de- and red i f fe ren t ia t ion capaci t ies of Hydra cells. I n his art icle on " T h e Mult i -

po ten t ia l Cell and t he T u m o r P rob l em" , A. C. BRAUN discusses t h e resu l t s of cu l tu r ing e x p e r i m e n t s wi th crown-gall p l an t cells, a n d compares t h e m wi th repor t s on t u m o r s in newt , mouse , and man . He concludes t h a t tumor igenes i s , and

pa r t i cu la r ly recovery f rom the t u m o r o u s s ta te , appea r s to be based, no t on genet ic changes , b u t on ly on a n o m a l o u s d i f fe rent ia t ion caused by epigenet ic modif i -

ca t ions aga ins t a c o n s t a n t cel lular genome ; t hese would ac t iva te t he b io syn the t i c s y s t e m s concerned wi th cell g rowt h and cell division. W. GEHRING closes w i th a con t r ibu t ion on " T h e S tab i l i ty of t he D e t e r m i n e d S ta t e in Cul tu res of Im~g ina l

Disks in Drosophila." He reviews t he recen t r e su l t s of t he school of HADORN,

604 BOOK REVIEWS

describing the origin and na ture of the determined state, and its continuous

propagat ion th rough numerous cell generations in in vivo culture, as well as the

sudden changes of determinat ion ( t ransdeterminat ion) which occur in cultured

clones derived f rom determined cells. These t ransde te rmina t ions are also

propagated during cell division, are often reversible, only occur after prolifer-

ation, originate in groups of contiguous cells simultaneously, and are to be

ascribed to changes of gene activity.

The volume offers an excellent review of a well-defined problem viewed f rom

m a n y different angles, and will be highly appreciated by many workers active in

developmental genetics and related areas.

W. J. OUWENEEL (Utrecht)

NEW JOURNAL

A nuales de Gdnndtique et de Sdlection animale, published by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA). Secretary of the Editorial Boaid: J.-J. LAUVERGNE, Centre National de Recherches Zootechniques, 78-Jouy-en-Josas (France).

Four issues annually, price per volume 100 F (France), 110 F (Foreign).