Preface
In order to provide a systematic comparison of the biochemical phenomena of life throughout the phylogenetic scale, Comparative Biochemistry has been organized as follows: Volumes I and II are primarily
concerned with the biological transformations of energy, Volumes III
and IV with the biological transformations of matter, and Volumes V
and VI with the properties of the organized systems occurring in
living organisms.
Thus, the present volumes, III and IV, are devoted to the principal
classes of constituents of cells and organisms, their distribution, and the
comparative enzymology of their biogenesis and metabolism. The comparison of structure and distribution, on the one hand, and metabolism,
on the other, require different types of specialized knowledge; we have
asked two different authors, when necessary, to describe these different
aspects of the composition of living organisms.
In the main, organisms are made up of fatty acids and lipids, monoand polysaccharides, amino acids and proteins, nucleotides and nucleic
acids, and water. This is an aspect of biochemical unity to which, on
earth at least, there appears to be no exception. It is logical to arrange
the chapters in these volumes to emphasize this unity. There are also
numbers of other structural classes of metabolic components which
occur only in portions of the phylogenetic scale; these less usual components illustrate the diversity of life.
The editors, although they have preferred to delay publication of
individual volumes rather than have chapters appear out of their organized context, have been confronted with serious difficulties arising from
the necessity of translating manuscripts written in languages other than
English, and of insuring the publication of texts already received without too long a delay. They have therefore decided not to postpone the
printing of chapters already on hand. This somewhat upsets the original
plan of organization which, nevertheless, continues to underlie the
treatise as a whole.
Among the chapters of Volume III of Comparative Biochemistry is
printed the last publication of Professor W. Bergmann of Yale University.
The chapter he has written is the result of many years of study, and
will remain a testimony to his high competence in this field, as well as a
vii
In order to provide a systematic comparison of the biochemical phenomena of life throughout the phylogenetic scale, Comparative Biochemistry has been organized as follows: Volumes I and II are primarily
concerned with the biological transformations of energy, Volumes III
and IV with the biological transformations of matter, and Volumes V
and VI with the properties of the organized systems occurring in
living organisms.
Thus, the present volumes, III and IV, are devoted to the principal
classes of constituents of cells and organisms, their distribution, and the
comparative enzymology of their biogenesis and metabolism. The comparison of structure and distribution, on the one hand, and metabolism,
on the other, require different types of specialized knowledge; we have
asked two different authors, when necessary, to describe these different
aspects of the composition of living organisms.
In the main, organisms are made up of fatty acids and lipids, monoand polysaccharides, amino acids and proteins, nucleotides and nucleic
acids, and water. This is an aspect of biochemical unity to which, on
earth at least, there appears to be no exception. It is logical to arrange
the chapters in these volumes to emphasize this unity. There are also
numbers of other structural classes of metabolic components which
occur only in portions of the phylogenetic scale; these less usual components illustrate the diversity of life.
The editors, although they have preferred to delay publication of
individual volumes rather than have chapters appear out of their organized context, have been confronted with serious difficulties arising from
the necessity of translating manuscripts written in languages other than
English, and of insuring the publication of texts already received without too long a delay. They have therefore decided not to postpone the
printing of chapters already on hand. This somewhat upsets the original
plan of organization which, nevertheless, continues to underlie the
treatise as a whole.
Among the chapters of Volume III of Comparative Biochemistry is
printed the last publication of Professor W. Bergmann of Yale University.
The chapter he has written is the result of many years of study, and
will remain a testimony to his high competence in this field, as well as a
vii