Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Cells as macromolecular assemblies. 1. Cells obey the laws of physics and chemistry. 2. Cells are organized into compartments -- Pt. 1. DNA as a store of information. 3. Genes are mutable units. 4. DNA is the genetic material. 5. The topology of nucleic acids. 6. Isolating the gene -- Pt. 2. Translation: expressing genes as proteins. 7. The assembly line for protein synthesis. 8. Transfer RNA is the translational adaptor. 9. Ribosomes provide a translation factory. 10. Messenger RNA is the template -- Pt. 3. Constructing the cell. 11. The apparatus for protein localization. 12. Receptors and signal transduction: channels and ion uptake. 13. Cell cycle and growth regulation -- Pt. 4. Control of prokaryotic gene expression. 14. Control at initiation: RNA polymerase-promoter interactions. 15. A panoply of operons: the lactose paradigm and others. 16. Control of RNA structure: termination and antitermination. 17. Phage strategies: lytic cascades and lysogenic repression.

Pt. 5. Perpetuation of DNA. 18. The replicon: unit of replication. 19. Primosomes and replisomes: the apparatus for DNA replication. 20. Systems that safeguard DNA -- Pt. 6. Organization of the eukaryotic genome. 21. The extraordinary power of DNA technology. 22. Genome size and genetic content. 23. The eukaryotic gene: conserved exons and unique introns. 24. Gene numbers: repetition and redundancy. 25. Genomes sequestered in organelles. 26. Organization of simple sequence DNA. 27. The genome is packaged into chromosomes. 28. Chromosomes consist of nucleosomes -- Pt. 7. Eukaryotic transcription and RNA processing. 29. Building the transcription complex: promoters, factors, and RNA polymerases. 30. Regulation of transcription: factors that activate the basal apparatus. 31. The apparatus for nuclear splicing. 32. RNA as catalyst: changing the informational content of RNA -- Pt. 8. The dynamic genome: DNA in flux. 33. Recombination of DNA. 34. Transposons that mobilize via DNA.

35. Retroviruses and retroposons. 36. Rearrangement and amplification in the genome -- Pt. 9. Genes in development. 37. Generation of immune diversity by gene reorganization. 38. Gene regulation in development: gradients and cascades. 39. Oncogenes: gene expression and cancer -- Epilogue: Landmark shifts in perspectives.

Genes V is the most up-to-date textbook available. It now includes a completely new design in full color with many more figures - all completely redrawn; an increased emphasis on biological function - providing improved coverage of cell biology, development, and cancer; a logical structure - easy to follow and learn from; and up-to-the-minute references.

Genes V gives an integrated account of the structure and function of genes in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. It is thoroughly up-to-date with the latest thinking and research in the field. Successive editions have provided complete coverage of the fields of modern molecular genetics and molecular biology and this edition continues that approach, providing a new synthesis with much greater importance attached to how genes function in their biological context.