Chemical Biology: Selected Papers of H. Gobind Khorana (With Introductions) (World Scientific Series in 20th Century Biology)

These selected papers illustrate the developments of the chemical synthesis of phosphate esters of biological interest (nucleotides and nucleotide coenzymes), of ribo- and deoxyribopolynucleotides (RNA, DNA) and of the total synthesis of genes in the laboratory, including principles for gene amplification (PCR). Another major section covers studies of enzymes that degrade nucleic acids, the structure of transfer RNA and its role in protein synthesis, and work on the elucidation of the genetic code. Finally, there are descriptions of the studies on biological membranes and bioenergetics (1979-1993) that led to the understanding of the mechanism of the biological proton pump, bacteriorhodopsin, a prototypic molecule for the seven helical transmembrane proteins. The first chapter and the introductions to each chapter review step-by-step the historical developments in the fields that form the topics in this book: the structures of proteins and of nucleic acids since their discoveries in the late-19th century; recognition of the importance of phosphate esters in intermediary metabolism and of phosphorylation in bioenergetics; the formulation of the problem of the genetic code; and the birth of molecular biology.