Introduction to Molecular Biology

1st Edition - January 1, 1971
Author: S Bresler
Language: English
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 1 4 5 5 9 - 6

Introduction to Molecular Biology focuses on the principles of polymer physics and chemistry and their applications to fundamental phenomena in biological sciences. It examines the… Read more

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Introduction to Molecular Biology focuses on the principles of polymer physics and chemistry and their applications to fundamental phenomena in biological sciences. It examines the structure, synthesis, and function of nucleic acids and proteins, as well as the physicochemical techniques necessary in determining the macromolecular structure, the kinetics and mechanism of enzyme action, the genetics of bacteria and their viruses, and the genetic code. It also considers the importance of precise quantitative analysis in biochemistry and biophysics, the architecture and function of biological macromolecules, and the unique mechanisms that regulate the cell's biological activity. Organized into five chapters, this book begins with an overview of proteins and their functional activity, from contractility and enzymatic catalysis to immunological activity, formation of selectively permeable membranes, and reversible binding and transport. It explains how such functions are related to molecular interactions and therefore fall within the purview of molecular biology. The book then proceeds with a discussion on the chemical structure of proteins and nucleic acids, the physicochemical techniques in measuring molecular size and shape, the mechanism of enzymatic reactions, the functions of DNA and RNA, and the mechanism of phase transition in polynucleotides. This book is intended for both biologists and non-biologists who want to be acquainted with the advances made in molecular biology, molecular genetics, and molecular biophysics during the 1950s and 1960s.

Preface

Introduction

I. Protein Structure

1. Introduction

2. The Chemical Structure of Proteins

3. Analysis of Amino Acid Composition

4. Determination of Amino Acid Sequence in the Protein Chain

5. The Types of Macromolecular Structure

6. Synthetic Polypeptides as Model Proteins

7. Secondary Structure of Polypeptides and Proteins

8. Optical Properties of Polypeptides and Proteins

9. Theory of the Order-Disorder Transition

10. Tertiary Structure of Proteins

11. X-Ray Structure Analysis of Proteins

12. Physicochemical Techniques for Measuring Molecular Size and Shape

13. Purification and Identification of Proteins

References

II. Protein Function

1. Introduction

2. Enzymatic Catalysis

3. Kinetics of Enzymatic Catalysis

4. The Mechanism of Enzymatic Reactions

5. Allosteric Regulation of Enzymatic Activity

6. Active Transport

7. The Mechanochemical Function of Proteins

References

III. Nucleic Acid Structure

1. Introduction

2. Chemical Structure of the Nucleic Acids

3. Macromolecular Structure of DNA

4. Thermodynamics and the Mechanism of Phase Transition in Polynucleotides

5. Synthesis and Properties of Model Polynucleotides

6. Enzymatic Synthesis of Nucleic Acids

7. The Synthesis of Unusual Nucleic Acids

8. The Use of Isotopes in Studies on DNA Replication

9. Molecular Heterogeneity, Reversible Denaturation, and the Formation of Molecular Hybrids

10. Macromolecular Structure of RNA

References

IV. DNA Function

1. Introduction

2. Bacterial Genetics

3. Mutation and Mutagenesis

4. Selection of Bacterial Mutants

5. The Luria-Delbruck Fluctuation Experiment

6. Sex in Bacteria; Conjugation

7. Replication of the Bacterial-Chromosome during Vegetative Growth and during Conjugation

8. Mechanism of Recombination

9. Genetic Mapping by Conjugation

10. Genetic Mapping by Recombination Frequencies

11. The Physical Scale of the Genetic Map; Experiments with Radioactive Cells

12. Bacterial Transformation

13. Genetic Processes in Viruses and Bacteriophages

14. Lysogeny and Transduction

15. The Chemistry of Mutagenesis

16. Mutation and the Genetic Code

17. Direct Methods for Deciphering the Genetic Code; General Properties of the Code

References

V. RNA Function

1. Introduction

2. Transfer RNA and the Activation of Amino Acids

3. Ribosomes and the Synthesis of Proteins

4. The Rate and Direction of Protein Synthesis

5. Messenger RNA and Protein Synthesis

6. Regulation of Protein Synthesis

References

Author Index

Subject Index