BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION
1 7
to new graduate students, or to undergraduates in their final year.
Each topic for a book is chosen on the basis that the subject has not
already been treated in sufficient detail and depth by standard
texts, so that a student is not able to read a specialist review without
a good deal of further study. The books in the series are outlines
rather than monographs, and this one by C. W. Jones accomplishes
its objective most effectively. It will be a great help to students in the
categories mentioned, and to teachers attempting to keep up to
date in an area outside their own specialities. The main sections
are: 1, introduction to bioenergetics; 2, components of the respira-
tory chain; 3, organization and function of the coupling membrane;
4, the energized state, 5, mechanisms of oxidative phosphorylation;
6, bacterial systems. In section 1, it is assumed that the students
understands the elements of thermodynamics, and discussion centers
upon the properties of ATP, the "league table" of energy-rich
compounds, substrate level and oxidative phosphorylation, and
redox aspects of photosynthesis. The small section on pyrophos-
phate might need modification in the future, since there is growing
evidence that its role in metabolism is much more positive than
merely to submit to hydrolysis, thereby providing reactions which
produce it with a thermodynamic pull to the right. In later sections,
I liked the very clear line drawings and diagrams to illustrate mito-
chondrial structure and function, and translocation of solutes
through membranes. In section 5, the main features of the three
current hypotheses concerning oxidative phosphoryiation, and the
evidence for them are summarized with explanatory diagrams. The
student will get, at last, a simple account of issues that have been
argued with some heat over the last 20 years. One of the few
sentences that caused me to raise my eyebrows was: "The chemios-
motic hypothesis ( 1 9 6 1 ) . . . was immediately viewed as a distinct
alternative to the chemical hypothesis". I would add: except by
some of the specialists in the area. I recall that Mitchell's advocacy
was robust as well as persuasive; and it needed to be. In this book,
all the diagrams are clear and uncomplicated, and not a word is
wasted in the text; in summary, I gained the overall impression of a
perfect set of notes for an excellent sequence of lectures.
Dr. Jones has given an outline of present knowledge of how
protons and electrons, removed from metabolites, provide energy
that is harnessed on their journey to a final rendevous with oxygen.
Experimental Biochemistry. 2nd Edition
By J o h n M. C l a r k Jr., a n d R o b e r t L. Switzer. Pp. 336.
W. H. F r e e m a n a n d C o m p a n y , San Francisco, 1977. £6.50,
paperback.
This second edition of Experimental Biochemistry is an updated
version of the first edition which appeared in 1964. A total of 31
experiments are presented together with a useful amount of
introductory theory. The experiments cover a wide range of
biochemistry and use material from animals, plants and micro-
organisms. The diagrams are well drawn and easy to follow and the
general layout of material is aesthetically pleasing.
As in the first edition, the book contains divisions based on the
chemistry of biological molecules; amino acids, proteins and
enzymology; carbohydrates; lipids and membranes; nucleic acids;
and a final chapter on metabolism. A section on membranes has
been added to the lipids chapter and this is welcome in view of the
increasing importance of this topic in biochemistry. The second
edition also contains a very useful introductory chapter on
biochemical techniques which is generally well presented. This
section starts with an account of the units of biochemistry which is
an extremely important subject that always seems to cause
problems to students. In view of this it is a pity that more space is
not devoted to this topic. It is also regrettable that SI units are
completely ignored. Additional advice could also have been given
on how to write up an experiment as it is probably as important to
be able to communicate results and ideas to others as it is to be
technically competent in carrying out an experiment. A practical
text should also introduce the concepts of the accuracy and
precision of biochemical measurements, biological variation and
January Vol. 6 No.
At a less sophisticated level, Dr Becker describes how energy is
u~. A central feature of the operation is the Krehs Cycle which
is introduced, as is traditional, in the chapter concerned with
aerobic metabolism, whereas giycolysis is dealt with in the section
on anaerobic metabolism; and yet, of course, O 2 does not
participate directly in either sequence. Indeed, the exclusion of O2
is a striking feature of most metabolic reactions, and I am sure that
this would fascinate students who were entirely new to the subject
and did not yet exhibit the indifference bred by familiarity. There
would be much to be said for an initial historical approach to meta-
bohsm: not through the history of the subject, but through the
history of our planet, beginning with the origins of biochemicals.
R. E. Dickerson and his colleagues 3 have presented a detailed
scheme for the evolution of bacterial energy metabolism in which,
amongst many other interesting features, the component reactions
of Krebs cycle are seen as having evolved piecemeal in the
photosynthetic sulfur bacteria under anaerobic conditions. Thanks
to the unique properties of 02 , this essentially anaerobic series of
reactions was preserved in living forms throughout the development
of our present oxidizing atmosphere, and with this, the ability of
heterotrophs to substitute biochemicals as energy sources instead of
using sunlight directly. The point I wish to make now is that the
continual operation of the carbon cycle (and those for other
elements) became an essential feature for the global harnessing of
energy by living forms as they evolved. The evolution of higher plants
was contingent upon their synthesis of llgnin and other bio-
chemicals; and these would have blocked the cycle had their break-
down not have been provided for by direct incorporation of 0 2 into
natural products, catalyzed by the oxygenases of microorganisms.
Like glutamine synthetase and GOGAT which I l~ave mentioned,
this aspect of biochemisry is an essential, but neglected, component
in the complete education of a biologist.
REFERENCES
IDagley, S. (1973) Biochem. Ed. 1, 4.
2Dagiey, S. (1974)Biochem. Ed. 2, 16.
3Dickerson, R. E. Timkovich, R. and Almassy, R. J. (1976)J. Mo/.
Biol. 100, 473.
elementary statistics but these are not included as such in the book.
The chapter on techniques covers most of the methods the
student is likely to encounter in the laboratory although in some
cases no experiments are presented to accompany the theory. The
account of adsorption chromatography is thin and only a few lines
are devoted to the very important technique of thin layer chromato-
graphy which according to the book appears to be a sub-section of
partition chromatographyl Ion exchange chromatograPhY in
contrast is dealt with in far more detail but only one experiment
accompanies this introduction.
The inclusion of redundant terms such as lysozyme, isozyme,
optical density and phosphatidyl choline is irritating, and should
not be used in a modern textbook.
It is always a problem when writing a practical text to strike the
right balance between relevant theory and experimental details but
in the text under review there is an imbalance with too few
experiments accompanying the theory. The limited number of
experiments may make the book unsuitable for class adoption where
teachers may prefer to select from a greater number of experiments.
The price at £6.50 is not unreasonable for a modern textbook of this
size, and students will find the introductory theory very useful and
may wish to purchase a copy even if it is not used directly in their
practical course.
In spite of these limitations, it is a book that would make a useful
addition to the shelves of anyone involved in the planning of bio-
chemistry practical classes.
D. T. Hummer
Chelsea College
University of London
Manresa Road, London SW3, U.K.