ARS | Publication request: BOOK REVIEW: TETRACYCLINES IN BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, AND MEDICINE

Submitted to: ASM News
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: November 1, 2002
Publication Date: November 1, 2002
Citation: STANTON, T.B. BOOK REVIEW: TETRACYCLINES IN BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, AND MEDICINE. ASM NEWS. 2002. V. 68. p. 574-575.

Technical Abstract: The book Tetracyclines in Biology, Chemistry, and Medicine edited by M. Nelson, W. Hillen, and R. A. Greenwald was reviewed at the request of the American Society for Microbiology. This book is not so much concerned with tetracycline antibiotic properties or bacterial resistance mechanisms. Instead, novel activities and wider applications for tetracyclines provide both the motivation and the subject matter for the book. The properties of this versatile drug class are elaborated in three sections: tetracycline chemistry and biology; tetracycline dependent gene regulation; and tetracycline non-antimicrobial medical applications. Coverage in the book is timely, with references dated 2000 and even 2001. The chapters are generally well organized with some essential overlap, although the contribution by Greenwald and Golub, a listing of tetracycline publications, is a bit too avant-garde. Two chapters are outstanding. Schneider's carefully written, well-illustrated account of tetracycline molecules' conformational behavior. A chemistry course from this author would be a pleasant experience. Armelagos's treatise on the serendipitous discovery of tetracycline use by ancient Egyptians supplies great 'audience-arousing' material for antibiotic lectures.