Nuclear Transport
Edited by:
Springer-Verlag 2002 Hardback, £72.50/$110
A defining feature of eukaryotic cells is the presence of intracellular membranes that delineate specific compartments, of which the most prominent is the nucleus. Segregating the genome from cytosolic processes with the nuclear envelope meant that the cell had to develop efficient processes to transport proteins, RNAs, and large macromolecular complexes such as ribosomes, in and out of the nucleus. That nucleocytoplasmic transport could be tightly regulated allowed eukaryotic cells to finely control a myriad of cellular mechanisms including gene expression, signal transduction, cell cycle and differentiation. Major insights into the nature and character of the essential components of the nuclear transport machinery have been gained over the past 10 years, and although there are numerous reviews on this topic, the field is now complex enough to justify a whole textbook. In Nuclear Transport, edited by Karsten Weis, the various aspects of nuclear transport are covered in nine chapters, written by well-known investigators. Each of these reviews is clearly written, and most of the authors do not over-emphasize their own research, but instead provide a complete overview of the pertinent questions being addressed within a given area. Because each of the chapters can be read independently, this leads to some overlap — but in ways this is welcome, as it allows different points of view on specific aspects of nuclear transport to be re-emphasized.
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