Genes & Signals

Genes & Signals analyzes gene regulation from a new perspective. The first chapter describes mechanisms found in bacteria, and two subsequent chapters discuss which of these is most highly exploited in higher organisms. A final chapter relates these molecular strategies to other enzymatic processes, including those involving kinases, RNA splicing enzymes, proteases, and others. A general theme emerges, one that proposes how a rather restricted set of signals and enzymatic functions has been used in evolution to generate complex life forms of different types.

The Genes & Signals web site is now live.
This site is a companion to the book and provides free access to downloadable versions of all the figures found in the book and references to work discussed in the footnotes. We hope you'll take the time to browse the site and send us your feedback.

"This book opens up the basic molecular language that cells use for their internal organization and to communicate with the outside world. This is important, and fascinating, for anyone interested in how cells work and how regulatory systems evolve."
-—From the Foreword by Tony Pawson


"In Genes & Signals, Ptashne and Gann have written a unique book that is driven by ideas and broad concepts, yet is based on solid information. It is accessible to undergraduates with some knowledge of biology, yet it is also valuable to experts in the field. I highly recommend it."
—Nature


"Ptashne and Gann have written a clear and intelligent distillation of the various assembly pathways, especially in transcription initiation.

The authors start with the simplest systems, phage and bacteria, and work toward the more complex. . . .

. . . A major strength of Genes & Signals is the spare use of experimental detail. An experimental approach is described briefly, e.g., crosslinking, and the results of the experiment and its implication for the biochemistry of the reaction under study are stressed. This approach is highly successful and the inverse of more conventional presentations, where experimental detail is laboriously elaborated and the conclusions to be drawn given short shrift. The artwork, by the way, is a pleasure. . . .

Because of the clarity and logic of the presentation, Genes & Signals can be recommended for a very wide audience, from college students to experienced researchers. It is not long, it's fun, and it makes you think."
—Cell


"I read this book with great pleasure. I have always been convinced that the same principles operating in bacteria are also operating in higher organisms with added complexity. The question therefore is to understand what kind of complexity is involved and how it is geared. This is a necessary book (which is a rare thing!)."
—François Jacob