Genes Vii

Genes VII gives an integrated and authoritative account of the structure and function of genes. It is thoroughly up to date with the latest research and thinking in the field. Successive editions have provided an integrated account of the whole field of modern molecular genetics and this edition continues that approach, providing a new synthesis and continuing the greater emphasis on how genes function in their biological context. In a change to all previous editions, which started with a traditional analysis of formal genetics, this seventh edition has been organised to present the subject in the context of the eukaryotic gene as revealed in the last decade, an analysis based directly on the molecular properties of the gene itself. From the Preface: "The thesis of Genes is that only by understanding the structure and function of the gene itself will we be able in turn to understand the operation of the genome as a whole. Although the emphasis has shifted to the characterization of eukaryotic genes, and therefore to their analysis by the direct techniques of molecular biology rather than the subtlety of genetics, the classical approach remains intellectually penetrating. It remains an aim of this book to integrate both approaches in the context of a unified approach to prokaryotes and eukaryotes."