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Check out the following book!
The Hidden Relay: How the Germline Connects Generations
Peter de Boer

Reproduction is an important central topic in biology. Reproduction genetics are at the heart of some of life’s most basic questions such as: where do we come from, what are we and where are we going? Reproduction genetics connects current generations with past and future ones, and is intimately connected with fertility and infertility. The cell lineage instrumental in the passage of life is called the germline while the mature functional products are the gametes. These form the main theme of this book.

This book bridges the gap between existing textbooks and society by describing the germline as a passage in time. This book includes high quality illustrations, a complete glossary and references for each chapter, with the most prominent research highlighted. The interactions between the science of reproduction genetics and society are addressed. The text also includes some personal experiences of the author from a 40-year career in the field.

The insights offered are based on a plethora of research techniques which have substantially increased our understanding of genetic and cellular biological processes, especially regarding the cell nucleus in recent years. We now have a much better insight into the transmission of genetic traits, including genetic changes between generations. The chromatin landscape i.e. how the genetic information is managed on a per cell basis, is now much better understood, both at the level of the gametes and throughout the germline as a whole. The concept of ‘’resetting the nucleus’’ is also discussed, the processes involved ensuring a new start for each generation, a concept that can be challenged by epigenetic modification of information transmission.

This book (around 440 pages 17 x 24 cm) contains 19 chapters, four text boxes, 47 full colour illustrations and six tables. In the first 6 chapters, the basics of transmission of genetic information are reviewed. This knowledge is applied as we follow the narrative of the germline from one generation to the next. The value of next-generation DNA sequencing and the increase of epigenetics in the transmission of information between the generations are also discussed. One chapter is devoted to the insights into the genetics of reproduction that the widespread use of artificial reproductive techniques has provided.

Biography

Peter de Boer graduated with a master’s degree in animal husbandry from the Agricultural University, Wageningen, the Netherlands (1971). He obtained his PhD in mouse cytogenetics in 1975 and then worked as a senior staff member in the Department of Genetics at what is now Wageningen University. From 2001 to 2012, Peter was a senior researcher in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Radboudumc in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Marc Maas graduated with a master’s degree (Biology) from Wageningen University, the Netherlands (2000). He then completed his PhD in genetics at the same institution in 2005. After a postdoctoral period, he developed into a science illustrator. In that role, he works for various scientific institutions.

Judith Swart graduated with a master’s degree in Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands (2018). She then moved to New Zealand for several years, where she completed her PhD in reproductive neuroendocrinology at the University of Otago (2022).
 
https://radbouduniversitypress.nl/site/books/m/10.54195/ZQDR3182/