Every species has to preserve the integrity of its genome to ensure faithful passage of genetic information to the progeny. At the same time, there are times during the life of the organism and population in general when a fine balance in genome stability and diversification has to be made to benefit the survival of the species. Genome Stability teaches the reader how various species maintain this fine balance in genome stability and genome diversification in response to their environments. Genome Stability covers a wide range of topics, including the genome stability of DNA/RNA viruses, prokaryotes, single cell eukaryotes, lower multicellular eukaryotes and mammals. Topics also include major DNA repair mechanisms, the role of chromatin in genome stability, human diseases associated with genome instability as well as changes in genome stability in response to aging. Finally, Genome Stability covers how epigenetic factors contribute to genome stability and how the species pass the memory of the encounters to the progeny, thus influencing the genome of the progeny in an indirect manner. This volume is an essential resource for geneticists, epigeneticists, and molecular biologists who are looking to gain a deeper understanding of this rapidly-expanding field, and can also be of great use to advanced students who are looking to gain additional expertise in genome stability. Includes a collection of chapters on genome stability research from various kingdoms, including topics such as epigenetics and transgenerational effectsProvides the first comprehensive coverage of the differences in the mechanisms utilized by different organisms to maintain genomic stabilityContains applications of genome instability and its effect on human diseasesExplains how various species maintain the fine balance in genome stability and genome diversification in response to their environments