Structure-function relationship continued

Herschlag s group continued its study of structure-function relationships in the hammerhead ribozyme using a base-rescue biochemical method. This method substitutes other atoms or molecules for bases at critical catalytic or structural positions and tests whether catalytic activity is lost. If so, the RNA bases (U, A, G, C) or a modified base (for instance, deazaguanine or 2-aminopurine substituted for guanine) is added to the solution to ascertain... 

The need for continuing research to further elucidate basic physicochemical properties to clarify structure-function relationships is evident. Information drawn from studies of chemical and enzymatic modification of food proteins and improvement of methodology for obtaining accurate data will further the objective of better utilization of plant and animal proteins as important food ingredients. 

The potential for use of this technology remains great. With the continuing refinement of protein purification methods and improved handling and transfer techniques, it seems reasonable to expect that new and important information concerning structure-function relationships of proteins and peptides will be obtained often with very small amounts of material. The central role that amino acid analysis technology will play in these developments seems assured. 

While chemical principles can be used to design chelators that form stable and specific Fe chelates, uncertainty about the nature and location of the chelatable iron pool and constraints on delivery of suitable chelators to the site of action have determined that iron chelator design is still dominated by empirical testing of structure-function relationships. This in itself adds a new challenge in that there is no perfect animal model for the human iron overload syndromes. Pitt (1981) has pointed out that rodents Fe-loaded with heat-damaged erythrocytes have been used most frequently to assess the ability of chelators to remove iron by the fecal (biliary) and urinary routes and lower parenchymal (liver) and RES (splenic) stores. He reviews LD50 and iron-removal data on many natural and synthetic hydroxa-mates, phenols, catechols, tropolones, salicylates, benzoates, azines, and carboxylates. No clear picture emerges and the search for the ideal iron chelator continues. 

Microscopy in Food Science is in an exciting state of flux. Traditional techniques of specimen preparation and observation will continue to give essential data on the structure of foods. However, the emphasis in the future will probably lie in the development of faster methods and in the quantification of individual components, both aiming at definition of structre /function relationships. This will be true of particulates as they relate to sensory scores and to the characterization of dispersed phases in emulsions and foams. At the same time, the use of microchemical methods should become more common as a means of... 

---