From DNA to Diversity: Molecular Genetics and the Evolution of Animal Design (Paperback)

~ (Author), Jennifer K. Grenier (Author), Scott D. Weatherbee (Author) "The central focus of this books is to identify the genetic mechanisms underlying the evolution of animal design..." (more)
Key Phrases: toolkit genes, insect hindwings, genetic toolkit, Curr Biol, Develop Biol, Proc Natl Acad Sci (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

" I have frequently used Carroll's reviews in my teaching and for my own enlightenment. They are among my favorites-clear, comprehensive, deep, and intriguing; I believe this is a generally shared view. I can't imagine a book in this field by Carroll being anything other than superb. Yes, I would adopt it for my course." Mariana Wolfner, Cornell University <!--end-->

"The authors' research will serve to recruit students interested in this new area." Professor Rob McClung, Dartmouth University

"What makes this book particularly attractive is the fact that there are so few books like this one- written by someone as knowledgeable." Professor Margaret Saha, College of William & Mary

"This useful book, combining a well-written review of the genetics behind morphological patterning with solid evolutionary analysis, is for a graduate audience, although upper-division undergraduates, faculty, and professionals would also profit from its clear and thorough presentation." S K Sommers-Smith, Choice Magazine, May 2002

"Well-edited and readable, this book is organised so that the reader has the background information in place to understand topics further into the text...The genetic basis of the evolution of morphology is a very interesting subject that many manage to make dreadfully boring. The authors of From DNA to Diversity have managed to keep this already fascinating subject intersting...The details are there for the experts, but the more novice reader can read the book for the general points and the accessible review of an important subject. The authors have succeeded in identifying the genetic principles that underlie animal morphology." L Sakaluk-Moody, The Journal of the Association of Genetic Technologists 28 (3), 2002

"It is very well and clearly written, and also splendidly illustrated, by appropriate colour drawings and experimental documents, some of which are original....I think that From DNA to Diversity can be, and should be, read by College and University students as well as scientists out of the field, who want to e informed of what is new and promising in biology." Jean S Deutsch, BioEssays 23:757-758, 2002

"...this is one book that everybody should read who wants to know why 'evo-devo' is such a hot topic right now." Manfred Laubichler, Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, vol 46, no. 1, winter 2002

Product Description

From DNA to Diversity represents the definitive synthesis of the new material on developmental genetics and evolutionary biology. Written by the most respected, author team, this text will be the monumental work for shaping the field.

• Focus on those genes, developmental processes and taxa best known and that best illustrate general principles - Keeps the book simple and useable in class.
  
• Two parts: developmental genetics and regulatory mechanisms and second, delineates possible genetic mechanisms of evol. change and examines evolution at different genetic and morphological levels - Builds understanding logically.
  
• Case study approach of best understood examples - Provides in depth focus on concepts.
  
• Four colour illustrations and photographs - Abstract theoretical becomes realistic.
  
• Chapter summaries and references - Provides textbook style help for students.
  
• Glossary - Helps both students and professionals unfamiliar with common terms in genetics, developmental biology and evolutionary biology.
  
• Premier authorship: Dr. Carroll is the pioneer in the field and the newly elected president of Society for Developmental Biology.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (December 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0632045116
• ISBN-13: 978-0632045112
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,005,028 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful intro to evo-devo, June 16, 2001

By	DR P. Dash "drdneuro" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a short (about 200 pages)book, but it really is a fantastic introduction to evolutionary developmental biology. I've had an (amateurish) interest in this for awhile, and Carroll et al really clarify basic principles in the field. It is beautifully illustrated...full color diagrams and photos on almost every page. The basic concept is that there is a limited set of genes (the "toolkit") that control development and evolution throughout the animal kingdom. The basic function of these genes--like the hox genes, sonic hedgehog, ubx, and so forth--is clearly explained, and examples of the evolution of their function by changes in their own, and their target genes, cis-regulatory binding sites are shown. In depth coverage is given naturally to the fruit fly, but other insects also, and this is contrasted to the situation in vertebrate development. A real pleasure to read! Anybody with a college course or two in biology should find it comprehensible. I am absolutely positive this field is going to explode in the coming years, and I am certain that this book will be an inspiration for those who will become involved in it. If you're at all interested in the subject of the molecular mechanisms of evolution...don't hesitate to get this book!

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tough going, but worth it!, August 4, 2001

By	[e-mail] (goteborg, sweden goteborg Sweden) - See all my reviews

As a professor of English at a Swedish university I devoted several years to studies of British history of ideas, leading up, eventually, to a book about the general public's reception of Darwin's evolution theory in Mid-Victorian Britain. The subject has fascinated me ever since. I have naturally followed with interest the subsequent debates on evolutionary biology, including its philosophical implications, in the pages of such journals as Science and Nature. Therefore the title of the present book appealed to me. It seemed to promise an introduction to aspects of the Darwinian theory which were certainly unknown to Darwin and his times. At the same time I realised that knowing more about genetics was a must for me, if I was to keep abreast of the debate about Darwin.

I must confess I found it hard to assimilate the text, in spite of a clear style, and excellent illustrations. The sheer weight of unfamiliar facts and concepts made the reading laborious, to the point of exhaustion. But about half-way through the book (and helped by excursions into some undergraduate biological textbooks) I found that I had after all assimilated enough of the content to see that , for instance, the geneticist's seemingly perverse interest in the banana fly, Drosophila melanogaster, was indeed a rational choice. Many of the basic genes of the banana fly, especially those responsible for the early development of the fertilized egg onwards, are the same, or nearly so, as those that build up man. Not only are individual genes similar: their interactions with each other and their functions are also similar. For instance, though the banana fly's eyes are constructed entirely differently from those of man, their development, from egg to adult, are still controlled by genes that are clearly related to each other, and interact with other genes in similar ways.

These fundamental similarities between an insect and a human implies that their common roots must lie some 500 million years back in time, presumably in tiny organisms existing in the oceans at that time. Moreover, it seems that the genes in question, to be found in the DNA of the chromosomes of both insects and humans, probably come from even tinier organisms, namely primitive bacteria, which the multicellular organisms had incorporated, at first as parasites or symbionts, in their own more advanced cells. If so, we are carried back even further back in time, perhaps to a billion years before now. We seem to be on the point of uniting the biological and physical (and chemical) evolution of our planet. Darwin surely would have loved that prospect, far beyond his own reach. This book is not an easy read. But it will yield a rich reward to the persistent reader. Incidentally, such a reader might do worse than go on to read an astronomer's view of the same wide panorama: Delsemme's 0ur Cosmic Origins.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Which Evo-Devo Book for You?, November 15, 2005

By	Edward F. Strasser "Éad" (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: From DNA to Diversity: Molecular Genetics and the Evolution of Animal Design (Paperback)

High School, College, Grad School? This book is at the grad school level. Carroll has also written Endless Forms Most Beautiful at the college level and The Making of the Fittest at the high school level. (You can check on "Read all my reviews" to read more about these.)

My own background is this: My formal education in biology consisted of an introductory course in college 40-odd years ago. Since then I've read a lot and in the last two years I've had a very strong interest in molecular and evolutionary biology. (For more info, click on my name, above. My Profile also has a link to my Listmania list of evolution books. Note that you don't have to be a grad student to read this book.)

I read From DNA to Diversity first and it was too much for me. I then read Endless Forms. That was pretty understandable, so I went back to Diversity and found it reasonable clear. I have since read it a third time and I am very fond of it.

Of the thousands of genes involved in the early development of animals, this book concentrates on a few, along with the proteins with which they interact and the various body parts they affect. Special attention is paid to the Hox genes and their insect homologues. Because these have large-scale effects in development, changes in them and in their regulation have profound effects on evolution. I especially enjoyed the section where Carroll combined many bits of information to show us the basic features that must have been present in the first bilaterally symmetric animal, that tiny but promising ancestor of us all. This is one of the bonuses we get for making the extra effort to read the grad-level book.

I find the text very clear and the overall organization - starting with the workings of the major toolkit genes, proceeding through descriptions of how those genes direct the overall shaping of the animal, and on to general considerations of evolution -- proceeds nicely.

[2 June 2007: This was one of the first reviews I wrote and I have added bits as my skills have improved. It got to be a bit patchy, so I have just finished a mafor revision.]