The fundamental question of how cells grow and divide has perplexed biologists since the development of the cell theory in the mid-19th century, when it was recognized by Virchow and others that "all cells come from cells." In recent years, considerable effort has been applied to the identification of the basic molecules and mechanisms that regulate the cell cycle in a number of different organisms. Such studies have led to the elucidation of the central paradigms that underpin eukaryotic cell cycle control, for which Lee Hartwell, Tim Hunt, and Paul Nurse were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology in 2001 in recognition of their seminal contributions to this field. The importance of understanding the fundamental mechanisms that modulate cell division has been reiterated by relatively recent discoveries of links between cell cycle control and DNA repair, growth, cellular metabolism, development, and cell death. This new phase of integrated cell cycle research provides further challenges and opportunities to the biological and medical worlds in applying these basic concepts to understanding the etiology of cancer and other proliferative diseases.
Our understanding of the cell cycle and its regulation has significantly increased with recent discoveries of links to DNA repair, growth, cellular metabolism, development, cell death, proliferative disease, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. In Cell Cycle Control: Mechanisms and Protocols, internationally recognized researchers not only provide overviews of cell cycle regulatory mechanisms, but also set forth their best techniques for studying the eukaryotic cell cycle and its key regulatory molecules in many major research organisms. Described in step-by-step detail, these readily reproducible methods enable fundamental research on well-defined cell cycle regulators-and those more recently defined-in yeasts, bacteria, plants, Drosophila, Xenopus, and mammals. The protocols follow the successful Methods in Molecular Biology(TM) series format, each offering step-by-step laboratory instructions, an introduction outlining the principle behind the technique, lists of the necessary equipment and reagents, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Comprehensive and cutting-edge, Cell Cycle Control: Mechanisms and Protocols offers all cell researchers an indispensable collection of critical reviews and techniques essential to investigate how normal cells divide and how this is altered in disease.
