Genomes 4

by T.A. Brown

Genomes 4 has been completely revised and updated. It is a thoroughly modern textbook about genomes and how they are investigated. As with Genomes 3, techniques come first, then genome anatomies, followed by genome function, and finally genome evolution.  The genomes of all types of organism are covered: viruses, bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals including humans and other hominids.  Genome sequencing and assembly methods have been thoroughly revised including a survey of four genome projects: human, Neanderthal, giant panda, and barley. Coverage of genome annotation emphasizes genome-wide RNA mapping, with CRISPR-Cas 9 and GWAS methods of determining gene function covered. The knowledge gained from these techniques forms the basis of the three chapters that describe the three main types of genomes: eukaryotic, prokaryotic (including eukaryotic organelles), and viral (including mobile genetic elements). Coverage of genome expression and replication is truly genomic, concentrating on the genome-wide implications of DNA packaging, epigenome modifications, DNA-binding proteins, non-coding RNAs, regulatory genome sequences, and protein-protein interactions. Also included are applications of transcriptome analysis, metabolomics, and systems biology. The final chapter is on genome evolution, focusing on the evolution of the epigenome, using genomics to study human evolution, and using population genomics to advance plant breeding. Established methods of molecular biology are included if they are still relevant today and there is always an explanation as to why the method is still important.  Each chapter has a set of short-answer questions, in-depth problems, and annotated further reading. There is also an extensive glossary. Genomes 4 is the ideal text for upper level courses focused on genomes and genomics.

1465 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 7, 2018

Reviews

[thirtytwobirds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book from the book club at work. I really liked this one a lot. It covers a lot of the same topics that an introductory genomics textbook would, but it moves a lot more quickly and goes into more depth than an intro book would.

Some of the examples it lays out are kind of dry (e.g. listing all then enzymes in a particular metabolic pathway), but I'm willing to overlook that and skim them because just having some concrete examples of things helped me understand much better.

My favorite example was when the book mentioned humans have several variants of hemoglobin, some of them more effective at binding oxygen than others. Why would having several variants be a good thing? Why would natural selection not favor the most effective variant over all the others? It turns out that the more effective variants are the ones expressed during fetal development, which means the fetal hemoglobin can "steal" the oxygen from the maternal hemoglobin, which allows the fetus to get oxygen from the mother. Just one example like that can help you have the "oh, yes, I see why multiple variants of genes might actually be a good thing" moment of understanding that can put a lot of other learning into context.

[Khashayar Ghavami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would consider it scientifically 5/5. It explains topics that are usually mot discussed in other molecular textbooks and it does it in a very unique way.
The reason for the 4 star are the figures. Increasing the details of the figures such that they become as detailed as the texts would make it 10 stars out of 5

[Zhitian Wu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally, this book is the best book I have read about genomics.

I am amazed by how successfully this book integrates so many topics together. It covers "history of genetics", "gene engineering", "molecular biology", "Mendelian genetics", "-omics", "genome evolution"... This book well explains the structure and the dynamics of genomes, and encourages me to explore in different fields in genomics.

But it didn't explain computer science techniques behind bioinformatics in details, many algorithms are explained briefly. So you might want another book for bioinformatics algorithms, (and after practicing your computer/data skills you are ready yo become a bioinformatician/geneticist.)

The writing style is good. It is much easier to follow than another book I have read -- "Introduction to genomics, 3rd" by AM Lesk.