Bernard Dujon & Georges Pelletier 
Trajectories of Genetics 

As genetics becomes increasingly important in our everyday environment, misinterpretation of its scientific foundation leads to mixed feelings of hope and fear about the potential of its applications.

Trajectories of Genetics uncovers the many facets of genetics – from humans to animals, plants, and the microscopic world through more than a century of scientific progress. It summarizes the evolution of ideas as the organization and functioning of genetic material has become clearer.

The book analyzes how genetic information transmitted from generation to generation in nucleic acids enables the fulfillment of biological functions and the evolution of the living world. It illustrates current developments in many areas: the improvement of species of agronomic interest, an increased understanding of microbial worlds, the management of genetic pathologies and the synthesis of new forms of life.

Table des matières

1. Following Ariadne?s Thread from Genetics to DNA.2. The Molecular Nature of Genes and Their Products.3. Chromosomes and Reproduction.4. From Genetic Engineering to Genomics.5. Uniqueness and Polymorphism of Genomes.6. Natural Dynamics and Directed Modifications of Genomes.7. Of Genesand Humans.8. Genetics and Human Health.9. Nowand Tomorrow.

A propos de l’auteur

Bernard Dujon is Professor Emeritus at Sorbonne University, France and at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences and his research focuses on eukaryotic genomes.

Georges Pelletier, agronomist and member of the French Academy of Sciences, is currently honorary research director at INRA ? the French National Institute for Agriculture. His research focuses on the mechanisms of genetic exchange of cytoplasmic genomes.