Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2002) 49, 885
© 2002 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Book reviews |
Cold Shock Response and Adaptation. JMMB Symposium Series Volume 2
Medical Microbiology, University College London Medical School, The Windeyer Institute, 46 Cleveland Street, London WIT 4JF, UK
M. Inouye and K. Yamanaka, Eds.
Horizon Scientific Press, Norfolk, UK, 2000.
ISBN 1-898486-24-7.
Scientists have only been studying the responses and adaptations of organisms to cold for the last 20 years. This book is a very good starting point for those interested in this relatively new area of research, as it brings together wide ranging research from bacterial, plant and mammalian cells. The book consists of review chapters on the major areas of research written by eminent scientists about their particular fields. Chapter 2 covers the cold shock response in Escherichia coli, Chapter 3 reviews the work in Bacillus subtilis, whilst Chapters 4 and 5 cover the research in psychrotrophic bacteria and cyanobacteria, respectively. Chapter 6 is reserved for the work in plants, and Chapter 7 for that in mammalian cells.
It is difficult to assess the accuracy of the text without doing an extensive review of every area, although the bacterial chapters are accurate. The reviews are well written, although a degree of background knowledge is expected that may make some sections challenging to those unfamiliar with the field. For example, some may have difficulty with the references to the structural biology of proteins. Moreover, researchers working solely on bacterial cells may find the mammalian chapter difficult without cell cycling knowledge. Nevertheless, it is still possible to gain a large amount of information about each topic without being an expert in the area. In addition, the reviews are well referenced, so topics can easily be investigated further.
There were only a few negative points about the book. Some of the chapters cover such a large amount of research that they can be a little hard going. This applies in particular to Chapter 2 on the cold shock response of E. coli. The organism was one of the first used to investigate the cold shock response, and as a result an extensive amount of work has been carried out. In addition, there are a few cases where better organization of the chapter would have aided the reader’s understanding. Chapter 3, covering the work on B. subtilis, abbreviates many of the protein names in the text. The names are provided in a comprehensive table, but it requires considerable cross-referencing to identify the proteins, making understanding troublesome. Furthermore, a few of the figures in Chapter 6 need more explanation. These problems, however, do little to damage the value of the reviews.
The cold shock response and adaptation have implications for the understanding of many processes within cells, not to mention implications for food hygiene and frost protection of crops. The identification of common mechanisms to protect cells against cold shock may have implications in human diseases, as is the case with the heat shock response and heat shock proteins. In addition, the bacterial stress proteins may be involved in bacterial virulence and could potentially be important antimicrobial targets for the future. The reviews were originally presented as a written symposium in the Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology (Vol. 1, No. 2, November 1999) and, therefore, could potentially be obtained at a lower price than £59.99. Regardless of their source, the reviews themselves are likely to be very useful for a wide range of scientists.
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