Exciting work in the past decade has revealed commonalities and differences among individual cell fusion events. In Cell Fusion: Overviews and Methods, a team of leading experts provide a collection of overviews that outline our current understanding of cell fusion and methods that present classic and state-of-the-art experimental approaches in a variety of systems. Divided into two convenient parts, the volume begins with nine overviews which describe different cell fusion events in models from yeast to mammals, and it continues with thirteen chapters illustrating commonly used methods to assay cell fusion in particular systems. As a part of the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biologya" series, these methods chapters compile step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols with lists of the necessary materials and reagents, along with tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and user-friendly, Cell Fusion: Overviews and Methods serves as a comprehensive resource for anyone, expert or novice, interested in the fascinating biological process of cell fusion.