Gene Expression and its Regulation: An Evolutionary Perspective

This textbook for graduate students provides a conceptual framework for comprehending diversity and evolutionary relationships of gene regulatory systems. It elucidates the importance and significance of the physical and chemical principles that underpin gene regulatory processes. The introductory section presents the core principles of the organization of genes, genomes, and aspects of gene regulation in three domains of life. The subsequent narrative then describes the process of gene expression as it goes from the DNA sequence embedded in the genome to the final functional protein. The book then describes how genes are regulated in different domains of life, the principal focus of the book, with considerable mechanistic details. This section also discusses the evolutionary relationships of gene regulatory systems in three domains of life: archaea, eubacteria, and eukarya. In the final section, the book underscores the potential to artificially intervene and alter gene regulation and describes attempts to re-engineer gene regulatory circuits.

Prof. Siddhartha Roy is co-Founder, Director, and Chief Strategist, at ATGC Diagnostics. His immediate past association was as a JC Bose National Fellow at Bose Institute, Kolkata, India. Earlier he has served as the Director of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (2004-14), Founder Director-in-charge (2007-14) of National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research-Kolkata (an institute of National Importance created by an act of Parliament), CSIR Cluster-Director (Biology), overseeing research planning and budgets of 11 CSIR institutes across India, and Senior Professor, Department Chair, Dean (2015-18), and Director (officiating) (2016-18) of Bose Institute, Kolkata, India.  He is the recipient of several awards, noteworthy among these is the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India. He was also a Visiting Scientist at the National Institutes of Health (USA) and a Visiting Professor at Osaka University, Japan. He is the Founder-President of the Chemical Biology Society (India), a member of the Asian Chemical Biology Initiative (Japan), and a member of Governing Board of Directors of the International Chemical Biology Society. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and The World Academy of Science, Trieste. He has served on Editorial Boards of several prominent international journals. Prof. Roy has served in numerous governing councils and scientific advisory committees of premier research institutes.

Prof. Roy obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Delaware (USA) and did his postdoctoral training at Brandeis University (USA) and the National Institutes of Health (USA). His primary research interest is understanding gene regulation from chemical and structural perspectives. He has published more than 150 articles in prominent International Journals. He has edited two books and co-authored a book on “Chemical Biology of the Genome”.

Prof. Roy obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Delaware (USA) and did his postdoctoral training at Brandeis University (USA) and the National Institutes of Health (USA). His primary research interest is understanding gene regulation from chemical and structural perspectives. He has published more than 150 articles in prominent International Journals. He has edited two books and co-authored a book on “Chemical Biology of the Genome”.

Prof. Roy obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Delaware (USA) and did his postdoctoral training at Brandeis University (USA) and the National Institutes of Health (USA). His primary research interest is understanding gene regulation from chemical and structural perspectives. He has published more than 150 articles in prominent International Journals. He has edited two books and co-authored a book on “Chemical Biology of the Genome.”