This important publication addresses the interactions of proteins with nonspecific binding sites on DNA as they play critical roles in fundamental cellular processes such as transcription, DNA replication, and recombination. The book presents current reviews of the biochemistry of representative nonspecific DNA-protein systems, and of their physiological functions. It includes chapters on the techniques used to characterize the complexes, on their thermodynamic properties, and on the role of nonspecific binding as gene regulatory proteins search for specific target sites on the chromosome. Systems considered include the effects of nonspecific binding in regulation of the lactose operon of Escherichia coli, the T4 bacteriophage gene 32 protein, the E. coli single strand binding (SSB) protein and recA protein, eukaryotic SSB's and histone-DNA complexes. The book presents those proteins displaying multiple modes of DNA binding as participants in more than one cellular process. This monograph combines rigorous descriptions of new findings for these important systems with provocative interpretations of the biological significance of the results. It is of great value to researchers ranging from graduate students to senior scientists in the areas of biochemistry, microbiology and molecular/cell biology.