Mouse Genetics and Transgenics: A Practical Approach.

I. J. Jackson and C. M. Abbott (eds). Oxford University Press, Oxford. 2000. Pp. 299. Price £29.95, paperback. ISBN 0 19 963708 3.

Name an area of biomedical research that does not have mouse models. We can overexpress, mutate or knock out genes; we can mutagenize mice, look for useful phenotypes and discover the genes underlying them. This book, a new title in the Practical Approach Series (PAS), tells us how. It brings together diverse protocols spanning all aspects of mouse genetics. An apparent difference between this volume and colleagues in the PAS is the breadth of topics covered. Subsections of several chapters have entire PAS volumes dedicated to them. For a relatively small book it has the monumental task of covering all the protocols used in mouse genetics, and it does a good job. When detail is scant or something appears to be missing there are cross-references to other relevant PAS titles. This book should appeal to both novices and researchers experienced in the field of mouse genetics. The first chapter ‘Simple mouse care and husbandry’, for example, is essential reading for those who have not set foot in an animal facility. The protocols can also provide new ideas for more seasoned mouse husbanders as well — tatooing as an alternative to piercing!

The next two chapters highlight the difficult task of covering such a wide subject, and may be better suited to the end of the book, when you have made your interesting mice and want to analyse or store them. ‘Spatial analysis of gene expression’ cannot be comprehensive. There are entire titles in the PAS dedicated to this subject, from in situ hybridization to DNA microarrays. The chapter does an admirable job of providing example protocols for in situ hybridization, and then provides a greater focus on analysing different transgenic reporter constructs and wholemount skeletal analysis. In contrast, ‘The cryopreservation and rederivation of embryos’ provides much technical information and covers the topic comprehensively.

The next five chapters deserve a book of their own. ‘Mapping phenotypic trait loci’ and ‘Mapping genomes’ are great chapters. They cover the topics as thoroughly as they can within the limitations of space. The genomes chapter is indicative of the speed at which technology is developing, combining lab protocols and internet-based resources. The internet is, in fact, given a chapter of its own — ‘Electronic tools for accessing the mouse genome’. It provides information and web addresses of databases containing genomic, gene expression and mutant mouse information. ‘Mouse cytogenetics and FISH’ provides information and protocols sufficient for a novice to begin using these techniques. The last of these chapters, ‘Mutagenesis of the mouse germline’, is again limited by space. It details one type of chemical mutagenesis and provides protocols for the mutagenesis itself and subsequent analysis. The last two chapters of the book, ‘Generation of transgenic mice from plasmids, BACs and YACs’ and ‘Directed mutagenesis in embryonic stem cells’ provide good reviews and protocols for the different transgenic and knockout technologies in use and in development at present.

The best thing about this book is that it is written by experts from around the world and is indicative of the networks established by mouse geneticists internationally. It recognizes the use of the internet as a research tool and resource for the dissemination of data derived from mouse genetics. The worst, and probably only bad, thing is that this book has stretched itself too thinly, and many of the chapters could have been expanded. When the second edition comes out it should be at least two volumes. We give a thumbs up to a book already well thumbed and in use in the lab.