GENE CLONING AND DNA ANALYSIS
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Brown, T.A. (Terence A.)
Gene cloning and DNA analysis : an introduction / T.A. Brown.—6th ed.
published year 2010
ISBN 978-1-4051-8173-0
preface
During the four years since publication of the Fifth Edition of Gene Cloning and DNA
Analysis: An Introduction there have been important advances in DNA sequencing
technology, in particular the widespread adoption of high throughput approaches based
on pyrosequencing. Inclusion of these new techniques in the Sixth Edition has prompted
me to completely rewrite the material on DNA sequencing and to place all the relevant
information—both on the methodology itself and its application to genome sequencing
—into a single chapter. This has enabled me to devote another entire chapter to the
post-sequencing methods used to study genomes. The result is, I hope, a more balanced
treatment of the various aspects of genomics and post-genomics than I had managed in
previous editions.
A second important development of the last few years has been the introduction of
real-time PCR as a means of quantifying the amount of a particular DNA sequence present
in a preparation. This technique is now described as part of Chapter 9. Elsewhere,
I have made various additions, such as inclusion of topoisomerase-based methods for
blunt end ligation in Chapter 4, and generally tidied up parts of chapters that had
become slightly unwieldy due to the cumulative effects of modifications made over the
25 years since the First Edition of this book. The Sixth Edition is almost twice as long
as the First, but retains the philosophy of that original edition. It is still an introductory
text that begins at the beginning and does not assume that the reader has any prior
knowledge of the techniques used to study genes and genomes.
I would like to thank Nigel Balmforth and Andy Slade at Wiley-Blackwell for helping
me to make this new edition a reality. As always I must also thank my wife Keri for
the unending support that she has given to me in my decision to use up evenings and
weekends writing this and other books.
content
Part I The Basic Principles of Gene Cloning
and DNA Analysis
1 Why Gene Cloning and DNA Analysis are Important
2 Vectors for Gene Cloning: Plasmids and Bacteriophages
3 Purification of DNA from Living Cells
4 Manipulation of Purified DNA
5 Introduction of DNA into Living Cells
6 Cloning Vectors for E. coli
7 Cloning Vectors for Eukaryotes
8 How to Obtain a Clone of a Specific Gene
9 The Polymerase Chain Reaction
Part II The Applications of Gene Cloning and
DNA Analysis in Research
10 Sequencing Genes and Genomes
11 Studying Gene Expression and Function
12 Studying Genomes
Part III The Applications of Gene Cloning
and DNA Analysis in Biotechnology
13 Production of Protein from Cloned Genes
14 Gene Cloning and DNA Analysis in Medicine
15 Gene Cloning and DNA Analysis in Agriculture
16 Gene Cloning and DNA Analysis in Forensic Science and Archaeology
