269 book reviews rcporter-gene system has been the need to sacrifice tissue in order to carry out any of the available assays. GUS Protocols describes three non- destructive assays that have been developed for screening plants for reporter-gene activity without damage to tissue, or loss of whole plants. GUS Protocols is a laboratory manual that will be of great value to the researcher. It describes methods ranging from the initial calibration of apparatus, through assays using the various GUS substrates, to more specialized applications, including analysis of the secretory systems and plant molecular virology. Microscopy is an important method employed in the analysis of GUS reporter-gene activity, and methods in both light and transmission electron microscopy are described. The book includes sections on the development of automated systems and the application of robotics to handling large numbers of tissue samples, both of which obviously require considerable financial investment. The use of the GUS reporter- gene system is not limited to plant systems. In the past, workers in the field of mammalian cell biologB7 have been discouraged from using the GUS system, as many animal cells contain endogenous GUS activity. However, the use of the GUS reporter gene is described in the study of post-transcriptional regulation ofgene expression in animal cells, and it is concluded that GUS has great potential as an alternative to existing reporter genes used in animal cell systems. GUS Protocols is therefore a welcome handbook for studies involving the use of the GUS gene, and will help researchers to exploit fully the potential of the system. It is also a good starting point for anyone intending to initiate studies using GUS as a reporter gene, as it contains details of the various GUS gene constructs available, and the equipment necessary for analysis. Rachel Hackett School of Biological Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK B15 2TT. How to byte biochemistry Microcomputers in Biochemistry: A Practical Approach edited by C. F. A. Bryce, IRL Press at Oxford University Press, 1992. UK;(I9.50 (xv + 307pages) ISBN 0 19 963 252 9 Microcomputers in Biochemistry is the fourth in the Practical Approach series that deals with computer applications in the life sciences. The objective of the book is to highlight the advantages of using computers in biochemical studies by describing a few successful applications. The 11 contributing authors describe their research and experiences in nine chapters. Chapter 1 (R. J. Beynon and J. S. Easterby) explains the use of 'Productivity Tools in Biochemistry'. The section illustrates the problems of inter- machine data transfer and highlights the usefulness of standard applications in the analysis and display of biochemical data. The next chapter (G. Parslow) is a detailed and informative guide to various programming languages. The different languages are compared and the advantages and disadvantages are focussed in a very commendable Appendix, which lists four versions of the same program written in BASIC, C, FORTRAN, and Modula-2. A large section is devoted to the increasingly popular 'Object- Oricnted Programming Techniques' and includes a detailed discussion of the authoring packages Authorware Professional and cT. (An authoring package permits the creation of programs that display and manipulate data by using icons in a graphical environment.) From this general discussion, Chapter 3 (M. J. C. Crabbe) tacklcs specific aspects of biochemical research and encompasses computational chemistry and biochemical data analysis. A few, well-chosen examples of enzyme reaction paths are illustrated, and a complete study of a reaction, from molecular modelling to Michaelis-Menten rate calculations, is presented. Increasingly complex mathematical algorithms are described in a concise manner and the chapter concludes with a comprehensive suite of BASIC programs, totalling over 1500 lines of code. The next four chapters concentrate on specific applications of computers in biochemical studies. Chapter 4 (T. C. Hodgman) tackles 'Nucleic Acid and Protein Sequence Management' and concentrates on the many databases of protein and DNA sequence data that are available. Sequence-alignment strategies and software are discussed for both protein and DNA sequencing, and the chapter includes tables of the available databases and programs. The fifth chapter (B. Isralewitz and D. Shalloway) explains computer- assisted recombinant DNA design and analysis (CARDDA) using the authors' own package MATILDA. An overview of CARDDA, with constant reference to the MATILDA program, is given and a full description of the program operation is outlined. Without hands-on experience of the MATILDA package the text is difficult to follow as it constitutes more of a program tutorial than a general description. However, it is very encouraging to read that the program can be obtained free of charge from an address given in the book. Chapter 6 (M. Costas) approaches the subject of comparative analysis of one- dimensional electrophoretic patterns. A general instrument/computer arrangement is described and the computer hardware requirements are outlined. The bulk of the chapter describes the menu functions for a particular analysis program, 1DSCAN. The reader is treated to slight glimpses of the problems with data acquisition by densitometry, but by reference to the appropriate TiBTECH JUNE 1993(VOk 11)