Until recently, the major part of biochemical research has been concentrated on the degradative rather than on the synthetic reactions of living systems. This is mainly due to limitations imposed by technique. The introduction of isotopic tracers and the development of efficient fractionation techniques have made possible the investigation of the biosynthetic mechanism of many metabolites. During the last decade, due to the Coris and their coworkers, the mechanism of polysaccharide synthesis was largely worked out. Two years ago, Lynen and Mahler proposed independently a scheme for the biosynthesis of long-chain fatty acids. On the other hand, the problem of protein synthesis is still one of the major challenges to the biochemists. In the mechanisms just referred to for the biosynthesis of simpler metabolites, the specificity of the biochemical process is always explained by the specificity of the enzymes involved.But when the formation of a protein is considered, the problem cannot be solved by referring to the specificity of conventional protein enzymes, since the synthesis of these, in turn, has to be accounted for. Evidently, enzymes involved in protein biosynthesis must be of a different nature. Elucidation of the mechanism of protein synthesis will not only add to our knowledge about the production of cellular protein, but may also shed some light on many other important problems, e.g., heredity factors, cancer, virus growth and microbial adaptation. A prerequisite to the study of protein synthesis is to work out a simple system capable of net synthesis of a specific protein. Several approaches have been designed to demonstrate protein production in vivo and in vitro. The assets and limitations of each of these methods will be discussed in the next chapter. The approach adopted for the work reported in this dissertation is the net enzyme synthesis in vivo and in vitro. Enzymes offer a useful tool by virtue of being specific proteins which could be rapidly and accurately assayed. The larger portion of the work was carried out using the in vitro system since, in contrast with the in vivo system, it is simpler and permits better control of the experimental variables. The effect of several activators and inhibitors has been investigated with special emphasis on amino acid analogues"-- Introduction. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fufillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Includes bibliographical references. / Earl Frieden, Professor Directing Dissertation; Karl Dittmer, Committee Member; Harold C. Beard, Committee Member; Russell Johnson, Committee Member; L.M. Beidler, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_590268 |
| Contributors | Younathan, Ezzat Saad (authoraut), Frieden, Earl (Professor directing dissertation), Florida State University (degree granting institutiondgg), College of Arts & Sciences (degree granting college) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | vi, 93 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm |
Page generated in 0.0022 seconds