Gene Control, second edition, is a concise book that focuses on gene expression and regulation in eukaryotes. Synonymous with the first edition, the chapters build on themselves, culminating in a discussion correlating gene control in regard to human health and disease. The author uses illustrations where appropriate, focusing on simplistic figures that correlate DNA, RNA, and regulatory proteins. This helps the reader avoid the distraction of the minutiae of gene control and provides important concepts to maintain the big picture perspective. Since the first edition in 2010, one change in this edition is the expansion of chapters covering chromatin structure and its role with additional sections relating the epigenome with cell types, cancer, and disease. Throughout the book, each chapter is concluded with summaries of key concepts and suggestions for further reading.
Overall, this book is well organized and provides the reader with a complete and concise gene control reference. This book is intended for an upper-level undergraduate or beginning graduate student well-grounded in molecular biology. Additionally, a new or seasoned principal investigator interested in beginning or conducting research in this field would find this text very useful. The majority of illustrations are not meant to inspire the reader to further exploration in this field; however, the powerful, yet simplistic figures provide an important tool for gaining a deeper understanding for the avid student or scholar. The author effectively provides important references to concepts discussed in previous chapters and specific examples in subsequent chapters. This allows the advanced student or reader to begin with the later chapters and reference back when necessary to understand the mechanism(s) in thorough detail if desired. Therefore, the instructor or reader may find it advantageous throughout a course or independent study to dive first into chapters 10, 11, and 12, which discuss gene control in regard to cell type, cancer, and human disease, respectively.