Molecular Cell Biology, Sixth Edition

Abstract

Lodish, H., Berk, A., Kaiser, C. A., Krieger, M., Scott, M. P., Bretscher, A., Ploegh, H., and Matsudaira, P., W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 2007, 973 pp., ISBN-13: 978-0-716-77601-7, $138.95. Akif Uzman*, * Department of Natural Sciences, University of Houston-Downtown, Houston, Texas 77002. Cell biology instructors are blessed with the availability of a variety of cell biology texts that can satisfy most tastes. The two largest texts among them are Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC) by Alberts et al. and Molecular Cell Biology (MBC) by Lodish et al. Both are exhaustive texts with images and figures with a large set of ancillary materials. Across the 23–26 years that these two texts have been in print, the writing style and visual presentation styles have remained consistent and unique to each. My personal taste has always favored MBC but I cannot make a reasoned argument as to why one is better than the other. At 973 pages, MBC is shorter than its previous editions as well as the latest edition of MBoC. Minor reductions in font size, image and figure sizes, as well as judicious editing have kept the text from expanding in proportion to the exploding knowledge base with which the authors must cope. The author list has changed with the departure of James Darnell and Lawrence Zipursky and the addition of Anthony Bretscher and Hidde Ploegh. The layout of the text has been changed to bring the chapters on molecular genetics closer to the beginning as Part II, “Genetics and Molecular Biology,” immediately after the three chapters of Part I, “Chemical and Molecular Foundations.” Part III, “Cell Structure and Function,” represents the core of modern cell biology except for the cell cycle. Part IV, “Cell Growth and Development,” contains the chapter on the cell cycle, followed by a chapter on stem cells, differentiation, cell death, and another one on the cellular aspects of embryogeny. Previous editions ended with a chapter on cancer; the authors have now added two nice chapters to Part IV on the cell biology of nerve cells and the immune response, preceding their final chapter on cancer. The chapters begin with solid overviews and end with “Perspectives for the Future,” which are much improved from previous editions. Cell signaling has become an increasingly rich topic in MBC, as chapters devoted to it increased from one to three chapters across three editions. The current edition now has two excellent chapters on cell signaling, one focused on immediate metabolic responses and the other on signaling leading to changes in gene expression. The chapter on the integration of cell signaling in the previous edition has been incorporated into subsequent chapters. The authors bring remarkable clarity to the cell signaling, secretion, and cytoskeleton chapters with regard to the emergent complexity inherent to these areas of cell biology, and this is apparent in the narrative as well as in the accompanying figures and tables. I have only two major complaints about the content. First, insulin signaling is given surprisingly brief discussion (the authors simply lump it into the RTK family and focus on other growth factors). Indeed, the insulin receptor story is not only as rich as that of any other RTK family member but also its importance to human health carries more immediate impact to students. Second, the authors continue to confuse DNA content and kinetochore/chromatid (n) value, which is most noticeable in Figs. 20.38 and 20.39. They introduce the correct ploidy of cells in meiosis in the Chapter 1 (Fig. 1.18). However, when they return to meiosis in detail in Chapter 20, they return to the confusions present in the previous two editions. Figure 20.38 erroneously labels germ cells as 4n after the S-phase just preceding Meiosis I. This leads to labeling the daughters of the end of Meiosis I as diploid 2n cells! One turns the page, and now the authors get it right in the next figure (Fig. 20.39). Although MBC acknowledges the importance of quantitative biology, the quantitative approach is still somewhat anecdotal as it is in every cell biology text. Until a computational biologist is taken on as a coauthor in MBC (or MBoC), I suspect quantitative biology, or even nominally systems biology, will not become a theme in any cell biology textbook, despite the fact the discipline has embraced quantitative/computational methods in almost every area of cell biology. A cell biology instructor seeking to introduce more quantitative thinking into cell biology might consider looking at Physical Biology of the Cell by Phillips, Kondev, and Theriot (Garland Press, 2008). MCB continues its features on “Applications to Medicine” with the list of all applications at the beginning of the text. A similar list of experimental technologies in the front of the text would have been nice to see as they are scattered throughout the text, despite the presence of two chapters on DNA-based technologies and modern methods of cell biology involving microscopy and cell culture. The “Classic Experiments” essays are well done, but too often the real data is replaced with schematic representations that detract from the elegance or impact that the real results provided to scientists at the time. The reference lists at the end of each chapter are a nice combination of reviews and primary literature. The outstanding GRE-like questions are gone; they are supposed to be available at the website, but I could not find them. However, each chapter does have a small collection of data-intensive problems that focus on experimental analysis, the solutions to which are published separately (MCB Student Solutions Manual, Storrie et al., W.H. Freeman; ISBN 1-4292-0127-4). The student resources website also contains podcasts, animations, and videos. Numerous podcasts are available and signaled with an iPod-like icon in select figures in many chapters. I think the authors do a nice job with most of the podcasts, often integrating material from different chapters, or going well beyond what is described in the text or figure legend. The animations are rather pedestrian. On the other hand, many of the videos are spectacular time-lapse microscopy film clips. Unfortunately, for many of these film clips, if you do not understand the system presented thoroughly, you will be lost as there is no audio accompanying any of them. Still, an enterprising student can probably figure out what he/she is watching. A few of the videos do not load well and cannot be played. Finally, an eBook version of the text is also available, which can be read as a narrative or a searchable text much like their fourth edition at the NCBI Books website. MBC is a well-crafted advanced textbook largely intended for a senior-level or graduate-level course in cell biology. A customized eBook might also work well for an advanced course in molecular biology wherein the contents of MBC would provide excellent background for as little as $38 per year.