Enzymologists

No. 4621 May 24, 1958 NAT URE 1431 describe d, and in a great many cases both chemica l and biologica l methods are given. One result of this layout is that some genera.I topics are dealt with in many parts of the book, The most striking case is chromat ography , which is now perhaps the 'special techniqu e' most universa lly used by biochem ists. It is not discusse d as a special techniqu e in Volume 4, although the somewh at analogou s process of paper electroph oresis is to be found there. Howeve r, there is plenty of space devoted to chromat ography in Volume 3 : the chromat ographic separati ons of sugars, acids of the citric cycle, amino-ac ids, and nucleoti des are describe d in some detail, and the chromat ography of organic acids is dealt with in two sections, on pp. 377 and 397. In each case some space is devoted to a description of the apparatu s required and the basic manipul ations ; a particula rly useful account of paper chromatograph y is given in connexio n with amino-a cid analysis on p. 504. It seems to the reviewer that the space devoted to chromat ography might usefully have been collected into one section ; to a lesser degree this is true of other techniqu es, for example , micro biologica l estimati ons. Volume 3 contains many useful features which a.re not easily found in the original literatur e without a great deal of research . To mention a few at random : the empirica l colour reaction s for identific ation and determin ation of sugars are collected together in a concise account ; the methods given for preparat ion of sugar phospha tes include the older, classical methods , sometim es with more recent modifica tions, side by side with newer, chemica l method s; and a very useful table of hydrolys is constant s of phosphates of sugars and related compou nds is given on pp. 84 7-48. On the other hand, some of the methods given can only be describe d as exotic, and a.re scarcely likely to become routine procedur es in many laboratories ; for example , the estimati on of adenosin e triphosp hate by measuri ng light producti on with a crude firefly luciferas e preparat ion. Nor is the preparat ion of compou nds such as y-carbox ymethyl ENZYMOLOGISTS' "10-butenolide likely to interest more than a small of enzymol ogists. group AL MANU SELF' -YOUR 'DO-IT In some sections the long time needed to collect Methods in Enzymology the articles for volumes of this size is very obvious. Edited by Sidney P. Colowic k and Nathan O. Ka.plan. A detailed descript ion is given of a biologica l method Vol. 3. Pp. xxiv+ll 54. 26 dollars. Vol. 4. Pp. for the estimati on of carnitine , using Tenebrio molitor. xii+979 . 24 dollars. Althoug h the volume bears the publicat ion date 1957, (New York : Academ ic Press, Inc. ; London : this article carries a footnote dated Septemb er 1956, Academ ic Books, Ltd., 1957.) saying that the method describe d has not been working laborato ry since HESE two volumes complet e the set of four satisfact orily in the authors' ry ! laborato 1953 on treatise this up make which The final volume describe s a very arbitrary selectechniqu es for enzyme studies. The first two, dealing been of special techniqu es. More than half is devoted tion already with the preparat ion of enzymes , have studies ; a short account reviewed in this journal (Nature, 177, 810 ; 1956; to techniqu es used in isotope topes and stable radioiso of ment ion moosure preparat the the of on is 3 Volume 1956). 509; 178, and ve account of exhausti an by followed is special on 4 isotopes Volume and es substrat and assay of labelled interg degradin and g preparin earlier for the methods Like ogist. techniqu es for the enzymol are those used volumes they consist of articles by many different mediate s. Other techniqu es dealt with , the differenc e authors, with consequ ent variation s of style and for the characte rization of proteins develope d by content, but between them they cover an immense spectra. methods for metabol ic studies Chance, and electron microsco py of intracell ular and useful field. the on s. The last mention ed is illustrat ed by sections structure seven Volume 3 is divided up into sections. basis of the chemica l nature of the substrat es dis- some excellen t photomi crograph s of cell a practica l The whole set of four volumes forms cussed : proteins , carbohy drates, lipids, citric acid will wish to have cycle -0ompon ents, nucleic acids and derivativ es, and manual to which every biochem ist if it does not even and ted, documen the well ds, is It compoun te access. coenzym es and related phospha , it will usually final section being about the detennin a.tion of contain exactly the details one requires original literatur e. inorgani c compoun ds. In each section both prepara- serve as a lead into the appropr iateEDWIN C. WEBB are es substrat main the of on estimati and tion pages in which the biology of the frog and the element ary principle s of zoologic al classific ation a.re followed by a 'Cook's tour' of the inverteb rate phyla. The backbon e of the book is provided by the section on the developm ent of genetic concepts which starts, rather surprisin gly, with a detailed analysis of Darwin's theory ofpa.nge nesis-em pha.sizin g that this was in fa.ct perfectly consiste nt with the evidence then available . A largely historica l treatme nt of classical cytogene tics follows and the student is led step by step through the evidence for linear arrangem ent of the genetic factors on the chromos ome. A third section introduc ed by a synopsis of the develop ment of the frog leads the way to an analysis of embryol ogical concept s-from the earlier antithesis of preform ation and epigenes is, through mosaic and regulativ e develop ment to the concept of the organize r. The section on evolutio n starts with Darwin and W alla.ce on the origin of species and provides the opportu nity at this point for a survey of the chordate s. As a natural consequ ence of the earlier genetica l and embryol ogical emphasi s, the way is well prepared for a careful presenta tion of the mechani sm of evolutio n. Such topics as the change of gene frequenc y in a populati on, patterns of speciatio n and isolation , changes of ploidy are all treated convinci ngly at quite an advance d level. The book is complet ed by a section on human physiolo gy which is almost an appendix , only distantly related to the pattern of the earlier parts. With this exceptio n, the work impresse s the reader particul arly with the very carefully designed order in which its material is arranged , by its careful documen tation and illustrati on of the evidence presente d and by the stimulat ing feeling it gives to the reader of an active and growing science. A first-yea r course based on this plan would be a fascinati ng subject for experim ent JOHN E. HARRIS in a British universi ty. T © 1958 Nature Publishing Group  (...truncated)