Publisher's description: With DNA and gene cloning all over the news, readers need to understand the ongoing genetic revolution. In this highly acclaimed guide, Karl Drlica fully explains the basic science and technology readers need to understand the issues and make crucial decisions. Each step of the way he explains complex topics using easy-to-understand analogies.

Known world-wide as the standard introductory text to this important and exciting area, the sixth edition of Gene Cloning and DNA Analysis addresses new and growing areas of research whilst retaining the philosophy of the previous editions. Assuming the reader has little prior knowledge of the subject, its importance, the principles of the techniques used and their applications are all carefully laid out, with over 250 clearly presented four-colour illustrations. In addition to a number of informative changes to the text throughout the book, the final four chapters have been significantly updated and extended to reflect the striking advances made in recent years in the applications of gene cloning and DNA analysis in biotechnology. Gene Cloning and DNA Analysis remains an essential introductory text to a wide range of biological sciences students; including genetics and genomics, molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology and applied biology. It is also a perfect introductory text for any professional needing to learn the basics of the subject. All libraries in universities where medical, life and biological sciences are studied and taught should have copies available on their shelves. "... the book content is elegantly illustrated and well organized in clear-cut chapters and subsections... there is a Further Reading section after each chapter that contains several key references... What is extremely useful, almost every reference is furnished with the short but distinct author's remark." –Journal of Heredity, 2007 (on the previous edition)

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the genetic material of cells. It carries information in a coded form from cell to cell and from parent to offspring. A gene is a linear array of nucleotides located in a particular position on a particular chromosome that encodes a specific functional product (a protein or RNA molecule). When a gene is active, its information is copied first into another nucleic acid, ribonucleic acid (RNA), which in turn directs the synthesis of the gene products, the specific proteins. This lecture introduces some basic concepts of DNA, proteins, genes and genomes.

Clear and concise, this easy-to-use text offers an introductory course on the language of gene cloning, covering microbial, plant, and animal systems. The essential concepts in biology relevant to the understanding of gene cloning are presented in a well-organized and accessible manner. This updated version of the first edition is an invaluable book for nonscientists as well as scientists with little background knowledge in gene cloning, providing a wealth of information for anyone wishing to gain proficiency in reading and speaking the language of gene cloning.

This book offers step-by-step instruction on DNA cloning, defined as moving genes around plasmids, mutating genes, or mining new genes. The aim is to provide those new to the field with reliable and up-to-date practical guidance while at the same time conveying the scope for creativity. After a brief synopsis of the history of cloning, the fundamentals and prerequisites are explained, covering, for example, software, vectors commonly used in the lab, appropriate choice of restriction endonucleases, the preparation of agarose gels, competent cells, and LB agar plates, and procedures to be followed upon receipt of new plasmids. The remainder of the book is devoted to the clear description of methods and individual steps in cloning. Guidance is provided on the cut and paste method, DNA sequencing, direct sequencing, primer design, PCR-based gene insertion and deletion, epitope tag insertion, the use of RACE technology, BAC recombineering, and much, much more. Sources of error and a variety of techniques that make life considerably easier when cloning are also examined in detail.

The ability to successfully clone genes underlies the majority of our knowledge in molecular and cellular biology. Gene Cloning introduces the diverse array of techniques available to clone genes and how they can be used effectively both in the research laboratory, to gain knowledge about the gene, and for use in biotechnology, medicine, the pharmaceutical industry, and agriculture. It shows how cloning genes is an integral part of genomics and underlines its relevance in the post-genomic age, as a tool required to test predictions of gene regulation and function made through bioinformatics. Applications of gene cloning in medicine, both for diagnosis and treatment, and in the pharmaceutical industry and agriculture, are also covered in the book. Gene Cloning takes a fresh approach to teaching molecular and cellular biology and will be a valuable resource to both undergraduates and lecturers of biological and biomedical science courses.

Gene cloning is the act of making copies, or clones, of a single gene. Once a gene is identified, clones can be used in many areas of biomedical and industrial research. Genetic engineering is the process of cloning genes into new organisms for altering the DNA sequence to change the protein product. Genetic engineering depends on our ability to perform the following essential procedures. Molecular cloning takes advantage of the fact that the chemical structure of DNA is fundamentally the same in all living organisms. The available information on gene cloning and transgenic development in horticulture crops has been compiled and it is hoped that this would be very useful to students and researchers in the field of biotechnology of horticulture crops. Therefore, if any segment of DNA from any organism is inserted into a DNA segment containing the molecular sequences required for DNA replication, and the resulting recombinant DNA is introduced into the organism from which the replication sequences were obtained, then the foreign DNA will be replicated along with the host cell's DNA in the transgenic organism. The book has been designed for students, research scholars and teachers involved in the field

"Now fully updated to reflect recent advances, this introduction provides a broad, but concise, coverage of recombinant DNA techniques. Written for advanced undergraduate, graduates and scientists who want to use this technology, emphasis is placed on the concepts underlying particular types of cloning vectors to aid understanding and to enable readers to devise suitable strategies for novel experimental situations."--BOOK JACKET.

Gene Cloning provides a basic introduction for students and researchers who have no previous experience of experiments with DNA, and assumes very little prior knowledge on the part of the reader. A three part structure addresses the basic principles of gene cloning, the application of cloning in gene analysis, and the role of gene cloning in research and biotechnology. The book is written in clear, jargon-free language, and is extensively illustrated with two-color line drawings.