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The lipids: Their chemistry and biochemistry. Vol. II. Biochemistry
BOOK
275
REVIEWS
“For the benefit of those who are neither geneticists nor protozoolowhich gists, I have included . . . a certain amount of general information I hope will be of use.” This modest statement hardly does justice to the comprehensive treatment which is accorded the author’s subject. One particular value of this book is its integration with general biology: in each chapter the author refers to pertinent information obtained through the use of material other than Paramecium, and develops a comparative biology rather than succumbing to the temptation of elaborating a specialized “parameciology.” In the first two chapters the author briefly reviews the historical development of the major concepts of genetics, discusses known instances of cytoplasmic inheritance, and points out the advantages of studying Paramecium. He includes an account of the taxonomy, morphology, and cultivation of Paramecium, and a detailed description of its reproductive processes and concomitant cytological changes. Most of the specialized information is contained in the three main chapters, entitled “The Killers ” “ The Antigens,” and “The Mating Types.” Here the author describes the dfscovery of the kappa, pi, and mu particles, their action and genetic behavior, and the genetics of “killer” and sensitive paramecia. “The antigens,” after some brief remarks on immunological reactions in general, deals with the occurrence of different antigens in Paramecium, their variation, genetics, and response to environmental factors. Finally the aut,hor gives a detailed account of the sexual relationship among the known Paramecium varieties, the occurrence and interaction of the different mating types, and the genetics of mating type det.ermination. Each chapter contains lucid discussions in which the author not, only attempts to interpret observations on Paramecium but comments on the significance of such observations for genetics in general. Dr. Reale concludes his book with a provocative discussion on variation in wild populations and the occurrence of Mendelian and non-Mendelian phenomena in Paramecium. Much space is devoted to heritable cytoplasmic factors and to the interaction between cytoplasmic and nuclear factors. The author does not hesitate to develop his own ideas when he believes that available data lend themselves to general and comprehensive interpretation. With commendable frankness he labels his speculations as such. The reviewer is convinced that the book will be well received and widely read. It! is attractively bound, well illustrated, and thoroughly indexed. WOLF VISHNIA~, New Haven, Connect,icut
The Lipids:
Their Chemistry
and Biochemistry.
HARRY J. DEUEL, JR., Dean, Graduate University of Southern California, Los Inc., New York, N. Y., 1955. xxvi + 919 Volume I dealt with the chemistry tended to describe their biochemistry in sary to divide this aspect of the subject the present Vol. II covers the digestion,
Vol. II. Biochemistry.
By
School, and Professor of Biochemistry, Angeles, Calif. Interscience Publishers, pp. Price $25.00. of lipids. Professor Deuel originally ina second volume, but has found it necesinto two further monographs. Of these, absorption, transport, and storage of
276
BOOK
REVIEWS
lipids, leaving their nutritional value, synthesis, oxidation, and metabolism under biological conditions to be discussed in Vol. III. The present volume, like its predecessor, is distinguished by clarity and precision of its arrangement, and by its attempt to include references to all the numerous workers who have contributed any data relating to the aspects of lipid biochemistry included in it. In consequence, Vol. II suffers to some extent by comparison with Vol. I, because the vast quantity of work which is quoted is rather overwhelming, and at times makes it very difficult to “see the wood for the trees.” How this could have been avoided, consistently with the completeness at which the author has aimed (and to a large extent realized), is difficult to suggest; Professor Deuel must, on the whole, be congratulated on the degree of success attained in a task which is probably impossible to perform with complete satisfaction. Few of those who consult this exhaustive monograph for information on any of the aspects of lipid biochemistry included in it will fail to find what they may be seeking. In this respect Vol. II shares with Vol. I the quality of being one of the most comprehensive treatises on lipids which have ever appeared. At the same time, it is likelythat workers in specific fields may feel that at times some minor lapses have crept in to what is otherwise an admirable discussion of the subject. The reviewer has noted a few such points here and there in those aspects of lipid biochemistry with which he is relatively more acquainted. Thus, in the discussion (pp. 160, 161) whether phospholipids are “obligatory components” in fat (glyceride) synthesis, what may be the most potent argument, against this hypothesis is not mentioned: the liver phosphatides of all animals show marked similarity in their component acids, notably including a significant proportion of highly unsaturated acids with 20 or 22 carbon atoms, but their corresponding glycerides vary widely in the kinds and proportions of their component acids, and here (except in fats of marine origin) the highly unsaturated acids of the C20 and ($2 series are present only in insignificant amounts. In the very impartial and clear account (pp. 142-157) of the “lipolytic” and “particulate” theories of fat absorption, no reference is made to the work of Garton et al. (1952, 1954) in which it was shown that the body fats of pigs fed on massive diets of either whale oil, or a mixture of cod liver oil and lard, consist of mixtures of substantially unchanged whale oil or cod liver oil glycerides with the typical glycerides produced by pigs on low-fat diets. This surely affords very strong support to the “particulate” hypothesis. Professor Deuel seems to cling to the old view t,hat oleic acid, the most abundant of all natural acids, results by desaturation of stearic acid, which, in due perspective, is a comparatively rare fatty acid in nature: “Presumably stearic acid is the parent substance for oleic acid” (p. 545). There is now a considerable body of evidence against such a view, apart from the obvious conclusion that this most abundant fatty acid is quite unlikely to be produced in living organisms by the selective dehydrogenation of so stable an intermediary as stearic acid. Of milk fats it is stated (p. 791) that “the most characteristic components in milk fats are the volatile acids.” This applies only to the milk fats of ruminants. Excluding these, it is almost certain that animal milk fats differ but little in composition from their body fats. Again, on the origin of milk fats (pp. 79&810), it
BOOK
REVIEWS
277
is reasonably suggested that the hypothesis of chemical transformation of blood oleoglycerides to the short-chain acyl mixed glycerides of cow milk fat presents difficulties, especially in view of the subsequent proof by Folley and Popjsk that the short-chain acids are synthesised in the mammary tissue; but although the presentation of these workers’ views at the Biochemical Society Symposium No. 9 (1952) is cited, no reference is made to the suggestion at the same conference (Zoc. cit., p. 63) that the characteristic glyceride structure of ruminant milk fats is fullyaccountedfor bythe alternative hypothesis that the synthesized shortchain acids are converted into glycerides by acyl interchange with oleoglycerides of the blood fat. This alternative explanation has also been put forward by Hoflund and Holmberg [Nod. Veleriniirmdtet 6, 321 (1951)J. In Table I (p. 4), the reaction products of lecithinase, as given, summarize those produced by all the lecithinases (A, B, C, D) and not lecithinase A, as stated. On p. 224, the author has relapsed into the old, misleading terminology that rape seed oil “consists of 40 to 50% of trierucin . . . the balance is made up of triolein and trilinolein.” He has elsewhere carefully emphasized that all natural fats are predominantly mixed glycerides, and here he means that the fatty acids of this oil consist of 4(t50y0 of erucic, and most of the balance oleic and linoleic, al2 cornbined as mixed glycerides containing one or two groups only of each acid. With such a maze of experimental findings on such complex biochemical materials, it would not be expected that the resulting monograph could appear faultless to all readers. The above minor criticisms do not prevent the reviewer from regarding the work as a whole with great admiration. It is excellent and rlear in its print.ing and arrangement, as well as in its matter. T. P. HILDITCII, Oston, Birkenhcscl, England
Advances in Enzymology. Volume 16. Edited by F. F. NORD, Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, New York, 1955. 584 pp. Price $11.00. The 16th volume of Advances in Enzymology contains a collection of reviews of particular timeliness and competence. Dr. Nord is to be commended on his wise choice of authors and subjects and for the continuing excellence of the gcnera1 format of this series. The chapter on the structure of Coenzyme A by J. Baddiley is a compact and thorough summation of the work on this compound and can probably be considered as more or less the final word in this area of research. Walter H. Seegers has written an extensive review of the processes involved in the coagulation of blood. The review bears the marks of a writer who is completely familiar with his field. The enormous complexity of terminology and diversity of experimental findings from different laboratories has, one would imagine, made the writing of this particular chapter extremely difficult, but by the use of a style occasionally somewhat colloquial and often philosophical, Dr. Seegers has managed to introduce a degree of readability not often found in connection with work on coagulation. Chapters by Mason, Meister, Bernard Davis, 31~1 .2ndrew Szent-Gyiirgyi on the Phenolasc Complex, Transamination, Intermediates in Amino Acid Biosynthesis and on Myosin, respectively, and a chapter by Fishnmn on p-Glucuronidasc continue the volume in an authoritative and interesting way and add considerably
275
REVIEWS
“For the benefit of those who are neither geneticists nor protozoolowhich gists, I have included . . . a certain amount of general information I hope will be of use.” This modest statement hardly does justice to the comprehensive treatment which is accorded the author’s subject. One particular value of this book is its integration with general biology: in each chapter the author refers to pertinent information obtained through the use of material other than Paramecium, and develops a comparative biology rather than succumbing to the temptation of elaborating a specialized “parameciology.” In the first two chapters the author briefly reviews the historical development of the major concepts of genetics, discusses known instances of cytoplasmic inheritance, and points out the advantages of studying Paramecium. He includes an account of the taxonomy, morphology, and cultivation of Paramecium, and a detailed description of its reproductive processes and concomitant cytological changes. Most of the specialized information is contained in the three main chapters, entitled “The Killers ” “ The Antigens,” and “The Mating Types.” Here the author describes the dfscovery of the kappa, pi, and mu particles, their action and genetic behavior, and the genetics of “killer” and sensitive paramecia. “The antigens,” after some brief remarks on immunological reactions in general, deals with the occurrence of different antigens in Paramecium, their variation, genetics, and response to environmental factors. Finally the aut,hor gives a detailed account of the sexual relationship among the known Paramecium varieties, the occurrence and interaction of the different mating types, and the genetics of mating type det.ermination. Each chapter contains lucid discussions in which the author not, only attempts to interpret observations on Paramecium but comments on the significance of such observations for genetics in general. Dr. Reale concludes his book with a provocative discussion on variation in wild populations and the occurrence of Mendelian and non-Mendelian phenomena in Paramecium. Much space is devoted to heritable cytoplasmic factors and to the interaction between cytoplasmic and nuclear factors. The author does not hesitate to develop his own ideas when he believes that available data lend themselves to general and comprehensive interpretation. With commendable frankness he labels his speculations as such. The reviewer is convinced that the book will be well received and widely read. It! is attractively bound, well illustrated, and thoroughly indexed. WOLF VISHNIA~, New Haven, Connect,icut
The Lipids:
Their Chemistry
and Biochemistry.
HARRY J. DEUEL, JR., Dean, Graduate University of Southern California, Los Inc., New York, N. Y., 1955. xxvi + 919 Volume I dealt with the chemistry tended to describe their biochemistry in sary to divide this aspect of the subject the present Vol. II covers the digestion,
Vol. II. Biochemistry.
By
School, and Professor of Biochemistry, Angeles, Calif. Interscience Publishers, pp. Price $25.00. of lipids. Professor Deuel originally ina second volume, but has found it necesinto two further monographs. Of these, absorption, transport, and storage of
276
BOOK
REVIEWS
lipids, leaving their nutritional value, synthesis, oxidation, and metabolism under biological conditions to be discussed in Vol. III. The present volume, like its predecessor, is distinguished by clarity and precision of its arrangement, and by its attempt to include references to all the numerous workers who have contributed any data relating to the aspects of lipid biochemistry included in it. In consequence, Vol. II suffers to some extent by comparison with Vol. I, because the vast quantity of work which is quoted is rather overwhelming, and at times makes it very difficult to “see the wood for the trees.” How this could have been avoided, consistently with the completeness at which the author has aimed (and to a large extent realized), is difficult to suggest; Professor Deuel must, on the whole, be congratulated on the degree of success attained in a task which is probably impossible to perform with complete satisfaction. Few of those who consult this exhaustive monograph for information on any of the aspects of lipid biochemistry included in it will fail to find what they may be seeking. In this respect Vol. II shares with Vol. I the quality of being one of the most comprehensive treatises on lipids which have ever appeared. At the same time, it is likelythat workers in specific fields may feel that at times some minor lapses have crept in to what is otherwise an admirable discussion of the subject. The reviewer has noted a few such points here and there in those aspects of lipid biochemistry with which he is relatively more acquainted. Thus, in the discussion (pp. 160, 161) whether phospholipids are “obligatory components” in fat (glyceride) synthesis, what may be the most potent argument, against this hypothesis is not mentioned: the liver phosphatides of all animals show marked similarity in their component acids, notably including a significant proportion of highly unsaturated acids with 20 or 22 carbon atoms, but their corresponding glycerides vary widely in the kinds and proportions of their component acids, and here (except in fats of marine origin) the highly unsaturated acids of the C20 and ($2 series are present only in insignificant amounts. In the very impartial and clear account (pp. 142-157) of the “lipolytic” and “particulate” theories of fat absorption, no reference is made to the work of Garton et al. (1952, 1954) in which it was shown that the body fats of pigs fed on massive diets of either whale oil, or a mixture of cod liver oil and lard, consist of mixtures of substantially unchanged whale oil or cod liver oil glycerides with the typical glycerides produced by pigs on low-fat diets. This surely affords very strong support to the “particulate” hypothesis. Professor Deuel seems to cling to the old view t,hat oleic acid, the most abundant of all natural acids, results by desaturation of stearic acid, which, in due perspective, is a comparatively rare fatty acid in nature: “Presumably stearic acid is the parent substance for oleic acid” (p. 545). There is now a considerable body of evidence against such a view, apart from the obvious conclusion that this most abundant fatty acid is quite unlikely to be produced in living organisms by the selective dehydrogenation of so stable an intermediary as stearic acid. Of milk fats it is stated (p. 791) that “the most characteristic components in milk fats are the volatile acids.” This applies only to the milk fats of ruminants. Excluding these, it is almost certain that animal milk fats differ but little in composition from their body fats. Again, on the origin of milk fats (pp. 79&810), it
BOOK
REVIEWS
277
is reasonably suggested that the hypothesis of chemical transformation of blood oleoglycerides to the short-chain acyl mixed glycerides of cow milk fat presents difficulties, especially in view of the subsequent proof by Folley and Popjsk that the short-chain acids are synthesised in the mammary tissue; but although the presentation of these workers’ views at the Biochemical Society Symposium No. 9 (1952) is cited, no reference is made to the suggestion at the same conference (Zoc. cit., p. 63) that the characteristic glyceride structure of ruminant milk fats is fullyaccountedfor bythe alternative hypothesis that the synthesized shortchain acids are converted into glycerides by acyl interchange with oleoglycerides of the blood fat. This alternative explanation has also been put forward by Hoflund and Holmberg [Nod. Veleriniirmdtet 6, 321 (1951)J. In Table I (p. 4), the reaction products of lecithinase, as given, summarize those produced by all the lecithinases (A, B, C, D) and not lecithinase A, as stated. On p. 224, the author has relapsed into the old, misleading terminology that rape seed oil “consists of 40 to 50% of trierucin . . . the balance is made up of triolein and trilinolein.” He has elsewhere carefully emphasized that all natural fats are predominantly mixed glycerides, and here he means that the fatty acids of this oil consist of 4(t50y0 of erucic, and most of the balance oleic and linoleic, al2 cornbined as mixed glycerides containing one or two groups only of each acid. With such a maze of experimental findings on such complex biochemical materials, it would not be expected that the resulting monograph could appear faultless to all readers. The above minor criticisms do not prevent the reviewer from regarding the work as a whole with great admiration. It is excellent and rlear in its print.ing and arrangement, as well as in its matter. T. P. HILDITCII, Oston, Birkenhcscl, England
Advances in Enzymology. Volume 16. Edited by F. F. NORD, Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, New York, 1955. 584 pp. Price $11.00. The 16th volume of Advances in Enzymology contains a collection of reviews of particular timeliness and competence. Dr. Nord is to be commended on his wise choice of authors and subjects and for the continuing excellence of the gcnera1 format of this series. The chapter on the structure of Coenzyme A by J. Baddiley is a compact and thorough summation of the work on this compound and can probably be considered as more or less the final word in this area of research. Walter H. Seegers has written an extensive review of the processes involved in the coagulation of blood. The review bears the marks of a writer who is completely familiar with his field. The enormous complexity of terminology and diversity of experimental findings from different laboratories has, one would imagine, made the writing of this particular chapter extremely difficult, but by the use of a style occasionally somewhat colloquial and often philosophical, Dr. Seegers has managed to introduce a degree of readability not often found in connection with work on coagulation. Chapters by Mason, Meister, Bernard Davis, 31~1 .2ndrew Szent-Gyiirgyi on the Phenolasc Complex, Transamination, Intermediates in Amino Acid Biosynthesis and on Myosin, respectively, and a chapter by Fishnmn on p-Glucuronidasc continue the volume in an authoritative and interesting way and add considerably