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Enzymes of primary metabolism:
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Book Reviews
Enzymes of Primary Metabolism: edited by P. J. LEA, Methods in Plant Biochemistry Volume 3. Academic Press, London, 1990. 414 pp. Hardback jZ56.00. This is the third in a series of books (series editors P. M. Dey and J. B. Harborne) covering methods used in the study of Plant Biochemistry. One of the aims was to provide a series on methodology that would compliment the very popular volumes on ‘The Biochemistry of Plants’, edited by P. K. Stumpf and E. E. Conn, also published by Academic Press. These two series together provide a very comprehensive coverage of our current knowledge of Plant Biochemistry. I only wish that it had been around when I was a postgraduate student struggling with the techniques described in Bergmeyer and wondering why blood should be a problem when extracting enzymes. At last there’s a series devoted to plants! There are 23 chapters in the 3rd volume. These cover many of the enzymes of carbon assimilation, carbohydrate synthesis and degradation, lipid metabolism, nitrogen assimilation, amino acid biosynthesis, sulphur metabolism and two ‘extra’ chapters on protein kinase and tonoplast ATPase and inorganic pyrophosphatase. These latter two topics appear somewhat out of place in a volume on primary assimilation but they are, nevertheless, useful chapters. The Editor has insured himself against criticism by apologising in advance to those readers whose pet’ enzyme has been omitted. I hardly dare point out, therefore, that the TCA cycle and the
Recent Advances in the Chemistry of Insect Control II: edited by L. CROMBIE. Royal Society of Chemistry, Letchworth, Herts, 1990. 296 pp. E45.00. ISBN O-85186-627-1. This paperback book provides an up-to-date account of the chemistry of insect control and discusses advances in the topic since the first edition came out in 1985. Like that first edition it is based on papers presented at a Symposium held this time at Oxford in July 1989. The book appears to be derived from the slides prepared for the lectures, but there is a linking text and there are also proper reference lists. The book has appeared quickly so that it does cover current research, some of which is still in progress. It is wide ranging, containing not only reports on purely synthetic insecticides (e.g. the thioureas) and natural insecticide-based products (e.g. the modified pyrethroids) but also approaches via pheromones, insect
oxidative pentose phosphate pathway have been largely overlooked but the book has to stop somewhere. As with all multi-author volumes there is a variation in the amount of detail provided in each chapter. The most valuable chapters are those devoted to one, or a few, enzymes only. These provide extremely useful information on potential problems that might be encountered when dealing with these enzymes. Such first-hand tips often make the difference between success and failure and are usually the details that are omitted from the Materials and Methods section of papers. Where an author has been asked to cover numerous enzymes in one chapter, the detail has suffered and they have had to resort, in many cases, to citing the relevant paper for the method. This is a pity, but I suppose that limitations on space may have led to this compromise. Each chapter provides details on the historical background, experimental details on the extraction and assay of the enzymes and, where possible, details on the purification. I can strongly recommend this book to any research worker with f56 to spare. It will be useful to anyone attempting to work up a technique for a particular enzyme. I don’t know whether a paperback version has been planned but it would be good to have one in the lab.-- and it might then be within the budget of ‘Post-Does’ and postgraduate students. Plant Metabolism Research Unit, University of Manchester.
ALYS~N K. TOBIN
antifeedants and juvenile hormone analogues. The editor, for example, provides a fascinating account of the natural Mammea coumarins, their relative toxicities and various different approaches to their synthesis in the laboratory. Again, M. J. Bushell, of ICI Plant Protection, presents a new chapter in the pyrethroid story with the synthesis of fluorinated analogues, some of which have high insecticidal activity. In summary then, this volume does provide the reader with an excellent overview of recent endeavours in this most important applied field of research: the battle against insect pests. Anyone interested in structure-activity relationships will also find much of interest in these pages. School of Plant Sciences, University of Reading
JEFFREY B. HARBORNE
Book Reviews
Enzymes of Primary Metabolism: edited by P. J. LEA, Methods in Plant Biochemistry Volume 3. Academic Press, London, 1990. 414 pp. Hardback jZ56.00. This is the third in a series of books (series editors P. M. Dey and J. B. Harborne) covering methods used in the study of Plant Biochemistry. One of the aims was to provide a series on methodology that would compliment the very popular volumes on ‘The Biochemistry of Plants’, edited by P. K. Stumpf and E. E. Conn, also published by Academic Press. These two series together provide a very comprehensive coverage of our current knowledge of Plant Biochemistry. I only wish that it had been around when I was a postgraduate student struggling with the techniques described in Bergmeyer and wondering why blood should be a problem when extracting enzymes. At last there’s a series devoted to plants! There are 23 chapters in the 3rd volume. These cover many of the enzymes of carbon assimilation, carbohydrate synthesis and degradation, lipid metabolism, nitrogen assimilation, amino acid biosynthesis, sulphur metabolism and two ‘extra’ chapters on protein kinase and tonoplast ATPase and inorganic pyrophosphatase. These latter two topics appear somewhat out of place in a volume on primary assimilation but they are, nevertheless, useful chapters. The Editor has insured himself against criticism by apologising in advance to those readers whose pet’ enzyme has been omitted. I hardly dare point out, therefore, that the TCA cycle and the
Recent Advances in the Chemistry of Insect Control II: edited by L. CROMBIE. Royal Society of Chemistry, Letchworth, Herts, 1990. 296 pp. E45.00. ISBN O-85186-627-1. This paperback book provides an up-to-date account of the chemistry of insect control and discusses advances in the topic since the first edition came out in 1985. Like that first edition it is based on papers presented at a Symposium held this time at Oxford in July 1989. The book appears to be derived from the slides prepared for the lectures, but there is a linking text and there are also proper reference lists. The book has appeared quickly so that it does cover current research, some of which is still in progress. It is wide ranging, containing not only reports on purely synthetic insecticides (e.g. the thioureas) and natural insecticide-based products (e.g. the modified pyrethroids) but also approaches via pheromones, insect
oxidative pentose phosphate pathway have been largely overlooked but the book has to stop somewhere. As with all multi-author volumes there is a variation in the amount of detail provided in each chapter. The most valuable chapters are those devoted to one, or a few, enzymes only. These provide extremely useful information on potential problems that might be encountered when dealing with these enzymes. Such first-hand tips often make the difference between success and failure and are usually the details that are omitted from the Materials and Methods section of papers. Where an author has been asked to cover numerous enzymes in one chapter, the detail has suffered and they have had to resort, in many cases, to citing the relevant paper for the method. This is a pity, but I suppose that limitations on space may have led to this compromise. Each chapter provides details on the historical background, experimental details on the extraction and assay of the enzymes and, where possible, details on the purification. I can strongly recommend this book to any research worker with f56 to spare. It will be useful to anyone attempting to work up a technique for a particular enzyme. I don’t know whether a paperback version has been planned but it would be good to have one in the lab.-- and it might then be within the budget of ‘Post-Does’ and postgraduate students. Plant Metabolism Research Unit, University of Manchester.
ALYS~N K. TOBIN
antifeedants and juvenile hormone analogues. The editor, for example, provides a fascinating account of the natural Mammea coumarins, their relative toxicities and various different approaches to their synthesis in the laboratory. Again, M. J. Bushell, of ICI Plant Protection, presents a new chapter in the pyrethroid story with the synthesis of fluorinated analogues, some of which have high insecticidal activity. In summary then, this volume does provide the reader with an excellent overview of recent endeavours in this most important applied field of research: the battle against insect pests. Anyone interested in structure-activity relationships will also find much of interest in these pages. School of Plant Sciences, University of Reading
JEFFREY B. HARBORNE