The Regulation of Dna Replication and Transcription

Description

The Regulation of DNA Replication and Transcription explores basic processes of DNA replication and transcription in an effort to identify the mechanisms responsible for the release of genetic information and its role in the regulation of cellular events. Concerned with discovering the fundamental concept that might integrate and explain the wide range of existing lines of evidence, the author reports and interprets the results of experiments conducted in an impressive range of biological systems. Focused on complex mechanisms at the biochemical level, these studies allow analysis of the pathways involved when cells, organs and animal systems react to various trigger molecules derived from both living cells and exogenous sources. These include hormones, RNA, RNA fragments, alkaloids, actinomycin D, and phorbol esters, as well as chemical carcinogens and drugs. Combining the results of these studies with his own extensive work in this field, the author is able to formulate a uniquely integrative biochemical model for the gene expression, demonstrating that both biological and chemically synthesized molecules can trigger the differential release of information from the DNA and thus influence cell transformation. Apart from its academic significance, the model offers high potential assistance in the search for ways to induce or control the expression of certain genes and, moreover, to promote differentiation of given cells in vitro as well as in situ.

Contents

1.Initiation and Control of DNA Replication; 2.RNA Polymerases and Release of Information from DNA; 3.Hormones in the Release of Specific Information from DNA; 4.Exogenous RNAs in Gene Expression and Transformation of Cells; 5.Carcinogens in DNA Replication and Release of Specific Information; 6. Basic Mechanisms of Gene Activation; Final Discussion and Recapitulation; References; Index; Complete list of MirkoBeljanski’s Scientific Publications.

Authors: MirkoBeljanski, PhD (1923-1998) was a biochemist and biologist who spent most of his career at the Pasteur Institute, where his research focused on cell biology and mechanisms of carcinogenesis. He published 133 scientific papers over the course of his career and, in 1960; he was awarded the Charles Leopold Mayer price for outstanding work on RNA synthesis as the basis of cellular multiplication. He is regarded as one of the "founding fathers" of the field of environmental medicine.

Primary Audience: Biologists and oncologists. Secondary Audience: Geneticists and experimental biologists