History of Biochemistry

Only during 17 and 18 centuries, important foundations were laid in many fields of biology. The 19 century observed the development of very crucial concepts, which include the cell theory by Schleiden and Schwaim, Mendel s study of inheritance and Darwin s theory of evolution. The real push to biochemistry was given in 1828 when total s)mthesis of urea from lead cyanate and ammonia was successfully achieved by Wohler who thus initiated the synthesis of organic compound from inorganic compound. Louis Pasteur, 

The early part of 20 century witnessed a sudden outburst of knowledge in chemical analysis, separation methods, electronic instrumentation for biological studies (X-ray diffraction, electron microscope, etc.) which ultimately resulted in understanding the structure and function of several key molecules involved in life processes such as proteins, enzymes, DNA and RNA. 

In 1926, James Sumner established the protein nature of enzyme. He was responsible for the isolation and crystallization of urease, which provided a breakthrough in studies of the properties of specific enzymes. 

The first metabolic pathway elucidated was the glycolytic pathway during the first half of the 20 century by Embden and Meyerhof. Otto Warburg, Cori and Parnas also made very important contributions relating to glycolytic pathway. Krebs established the citric acid and urea cycles during 1930-40. In 1940, Lipmarm described the central role of ATP in biological systems. 

The biochemistry of nucleic acids entered into a phase of exponential growth after the establishment of the structure of DNA in 1953 by Watson and Crick followed by the discovery of DNA polymerase by Komberg in 1956. From 1960 onwards, biochemistry plunged into an interdisciplinary phase sharing much in common with biology and molecular genetics. 

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Lipoic acid (6,8-dithiooctanoic acid) was isolated and characterized in 1951 in studies that showed that it was required for the growth of certain bacteria and protozoa. This accomplishment was one of the most impressive feats of isolation in the early history of biochemistry. Eli Lilly and Co., in cooperation with Lester J. Reed at the University of Texas and I. C. Gunsalus at the... 

Teich, M. with Needham, D.M.(1992). A Documentary History of Biochemistry, 1770-1940. Leicester UP. 

The history of biochemistry teaches us that a full understanding of a pathway can be obtained only when defined substrates and purified enzymes are used. A program of chemical synthesis of dolichol-linked saccharides has been undertaken by C. D. Warren and coworkers,142 144 and the first attempts at purification of the enzymes have been published.47 51-53,145 146... 

Two major discoveries in 1953 were of crucial importance in the history of biochemistry. In that year James D. Watson and Francis Crick deduced the double-helical structure of DNA and proposed a structural basis for its precise replication (Chapter 8). Their proposal illuminated the molecular reality behind the idea of a gene. In that same year, Frederick Sanger worked out the sequence of amino acid residues in the polypeptide chains of the hormone insulin (Fig. 3-24), surprising many researchers who had long thought that elucidation of the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide would be a hopelessly difficult task. It quickly became evident that the nucleotide sequence in DNA and the amino acid sequence in proteins were somehow related. Barely a decade after these discoveries, the role of the nucleotide... 

When I first entered the study of hormone action, some 25 years ago, there was a widespread feeling among biologists that hormone action could not be studied meaningfully in the absence of organized cell structure. However, as I reflected on the history of biochemistry, it seemed to me there was a real possibility that hormones might act at the molecular level. 

Beinert, H. (1995) These are the moments when we live From Thunberg tubes and manometry to phone, fax and FedEx. In Selected Topics in the History of Biochemistry Personal Recollections, Comprehensive Biochemistry, Vol. 38, Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc., New York. 

New Medical and Life Sciences Examples This edition adds boxed features of biochemical methods, medical applications, and the history of biochemistry, adding to those already present of medicine, biotechnology, and other aspects of daily life. 

Warning Not everything in this book is true. Despite all efforts to get it right, there are unintentional errors and misinterpretations of experimental results. Indeed, the history of biochemistry is replete with accounts of experimental findings that were interpreted incorrectly. Yet, the ideas expressed often stimulated others to develop a more correct picture later. The same is true today. Students should be critical, should look at experimental details, and consult original literature as much as possible. 

The first use of isotopic labeling in the study of the citric acid cycle and one of the first in the history of biochemistry was carried out by Harland G. Wood and C. H. Werkman in 1941.ab The aim was to study the fermentation of glycerol by propionic acid bacteria, a process that was not obviously related to the citric acid cycle. Some succinate was also formed in... 

Kleinzeller, A.(1995). A history of Biochemistry exploring the cell membrane conceptual developments. Comprehensive Biochemistry (Neuberger, A. van Deemen, L.L.M., Eds.), Vol. 39. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 

At the start of the twentieth century, biochemistry was dominated by the microbe hunters and replaced later by enzyme and vitamin hunters. In recent decades, biochemistry has been dominated by the gene hunters. The current age of the genome truly represents the most revolutionary advance in the history of biochemistry and medical science. The wealth of information provided by the Human Genome Project lets us anticipate many more exciting discoveries in both genomics and proteomics, areas of study now leading biochemistry in the twenty-first century. 

M. Florkin, A History of Biochemistry Pt I Proto-biochemistry Pt 2 Proto-biochemistry to Biochemistry, vols 30-33 of Comprehensive Biochemistry, ed. M. Florkin and E. H. Stoltz, 34 vols, Elsevier, Amsterdam, London, New York, 1979. 

M. Teich and D. M. Needham, A Documentary History of Biochemistry 1770-1940, University of Leicester Press, Leicester London, 1991 Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, Madison, NJ, 1992. 

J. S. Fruton, Selected Bibliography of Biographical Data for the History of Biochemistry since 1800, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA, 1974. 

M. Dixon The history of enzymes , in The Chemistry of Life, Eight Lectures on the History of Biochemistry, ed. Joseph Needham, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1970, pp. 15-37. 

In 1953, Watson and Crick proposed a three-dimensional structure of DNA which is a cornerstone in the history of biochemistry and molecular biology. The double helix they proposed for the secondary structure of DNA gained immediate acceptance, partly because it explained all known facts about DNA, and partly because it provided a beautiful model for DNA replication. 

After retirement in 1963, she began writing her classic work, Machina Carnis The Biochemistry of Muscle Contraction in Its Historical Development,00 which was published in 1971. The book had a dedication page to F.G.H. mentor and friend. Then, for many years she assisted Mikulas Teich with A Documentary History of Biochemistry 1770-1940. Unfortunately, Moyle s health deteriorated, as her former student, Jennifer Williams, described ... 

H. Kuhn, in Selected Topics in the History of Biochemistry Personal Recollections VI... 

Thus, in the first phase of the history of biochemistry, the most important and pressing problem was the establishment of the nature and composition of the chemicals of the body. To this phase belong the work of Wohler and Sumner already referred to, and the massive development of the French and German schools of organic chemistry in the hands of such nineteenth-century... 

One of the most important developments in the recent history of biochemistry is the discovery of restriction endonucleases (also called restriction enzymes). Restriction endonucleases are enzymes that catalyze the double-strand cleavage of DNA at specific base sequences. That is, restriction enzymes cut DNA strands at specific DNA sequences, generating fragments of specific sizes that can be separated and visualized on gel electrophoresis (Figure 25.6). 

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