Symposium reports 



95. 



L.NOVER and K.MOTHES, eds. 1977. CELL DIFFERENTIATION IN MICROORGANISMS, 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



North-Holland, Amsterdam, etc.; Fischer, Jena. 639 pp., 193 figs. Dfl.121.50, 



$ 49.75 



Contents: A. Specific regulation of gene expression: I. Transcription (5 

 papers), II. Pre-messenger RNA and its processing (2), III. Translation 

 (3), IV. Proteinogen processing (1), V. Protein degradation (3); B. Typical 

 aspects of cell differentiation: I. Programs of gene expression (4), II. 

 The cell division cycle (4) , III. Enzymic adaptation (3) , IV. Cell spe- 

 cialization (4) , V. Biogenesis and transformation of cell organelles (6) 



This truly international symposium was held in April 1976 in East Germany. 

 Of the 36 contributors 14 came from East and West Germany and the others 

 from ten other countries. Many are established authorities in their res- 

 pective fields. The papers vary greatly in format and were only minimally 

 edited. The large majority are surveys of recent research. The discussions 

 are not recorded. 



The table of contents shows the very broad scope of the symposium. The or- 

 ganisms on which research was reported range from viruses and bacteria 

 through lower to highly organised eukaryotes. 



The volume is produced in offset print and is illustrated with line 

 drawings and photographs. 



96. 



J.PAPACONSTANTINOU, ed. 1976. THE MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF HORMONE ACTION 



Academic Press, New York, etc. 34th Symposium Soc . Devi. Biol. XIV, 197 pp., 



98 figs., 12 tabs., subject index. $ 18.00, £ 11.70 



Contributors: Darnell, Felsenfeld, Gannon, Gilmour, Lodish, Roeder, Towle, 

 Varner, Wangh 



This symposium, held in June 1975, concentrated on a not strictly develop- 

 mental subject that was judged to be of great importance to developmental 

 biologists. The contributors were encouraged to emphasise the latest find- 

 ings of their own laboratories. 



The first section of the symposium is not covered by the symposium title. 

 It has papers on organisation of proteins in chromatin, on the role of non- 

 histone proteins and nuclear RNA polymerases, and on the formation and 

 translation of mRNA in mammalian and slime mould cells. The second section 

 deals with the action of steroid hormones in the chick oviduct, the rat pi- 

 tuitary and uterus, and Xenopus liver. In these papers of course steroid 

 receptor molecules loom large. The last section consists of a paper on hor- 

 mone action in the barley aleurone system. 



The book is well produced and illustrated. 



97. 



J.G.SCANDALIOS and G.S.WHITT, eds. 1977. PAPERS FROM THE SYMPOSIUM ON 



MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND GENETICS OF DEVELOPMENT 



Springer, Berlin, etc. Differentiation, vol.9, 1/2. 130 pp., 58 figs., 43 



tabs. 



This special issue contains papers from a symposium dedicated to Professor 

 C.L.Markert and held in April 1977 at Raleigh, N.C. We mention the following 

 authors and subjects: 



Elinson (genetics of developmental arrest in amphibian hybrids) ; Gordon 

 (genetics of pigmentation in allophenic mice) ; Pe'dersen and Spindle (BUdR 



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