Transfer and Expression of Eukaryotic Genes

Transfer and Expression of Eukaryotic Genes documents the progress in our understanding of the transfer and expression of eukaryotic genes. This book covers topics organized around three themes: gene expression and its regulation; in vivo gene transfer and development; and viral gene and oncogene systems. This text is divided into three sections encompassing 25 chapters and begins with an overview of the molecular basis of gene expression, with emphasis on transcription complexes that account for transcription control in eukaryotic genes. It then turns to experiments that assess the in vitro stimulatory effect of the SV40 72-bp repeat on specific transcription from heterologous promoter elements using a HeLa whole cell extract. The reader is methodically introduced to the regulation signals and factors of histone gene transcription; transcriptional control of beta-globin and liver-specific genes in mouse cells; and gene transfer in Drosophila and the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. This book also considers the splicing of messenger RNA precursors and the regulation of thymidine kinase enzyme expression, and then concludes with a chapter that describes the activation of the myc oncogene by chromosomal translocation. This book will be of interest to students and researchers in fields ranging from molecular genetics to microbiology, biochemistry, pathology, and immunology.