ANNUAL REVIEWS
Further
Quick links to online content Ann. Rev. Biochem. 1978. 47:1-33 Copyright © 1978 by Annual Reviews Inc. All rights reserved
Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1978.47:1-33. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by Dartmouth College - Main Library on 01/24/15. For personal use only.
EXPLORATIONS OF
+967
BACTERIAL METABOLISM H. A. Barker Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
CONTENTS EARLY YEARS
............................................................................................................
1
INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE ................................................................................
3
POSTDOCTORAL YEARS AT PACIFIC GROVE AND DELFT..........................
7
A SOIL MICROBIOLOGIST AT BERKELEy..........................................................
11
EARLY EXPERIMENTS WITH RADIOACTIVE CARBON ......... .. .... . ......
\3
.
.
..
.
..
...
SABBATICAL INTERLUDE ......................................................................................
15
SUCROSE PHOSPHORyLASE....................................................................................
16
RESEARCH ON DRIED FRUIT ................................................................................
18
CLOSTRIDIUM KLUYVERL' FATIY ACID METABOLISM AND AMINO ACID BIOSYNTHESIS ................................................................................
18
BIOCHEMISTRY OF METHANE FORMATION ....................................................
21
TRANSITION FROM MICROBIOLOGY TO BIOCHEMISTRy ..........................
22
THE BR FACTOR ........................................................................................................
23
PURINE DEGRADATION BY CLOSTRIDIA ........................................................
24
SABBATICAL AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ......................
25
GLUTAMATE FERMENTATION AND B\2 COENZYMES ..................................
26
LYSINE DEGRADATION BY CLOSTRIDIA AND RELATED PROBLEMS ....
29
FINAL COMMENTS ....................................................................................................
32
EARLY YEARS I grew up mostly in California, first in Oakland till the age of 11, and then in Palo Alto till I graduated from Stanford University. My parents had been
part of the western migration. My father as a young man came to California from Maine, where he had grown up on a poor farm in a rural environment that was attractive to a child, but held little promise of a good life for a n
0066-4154/78/0701-0001$01.00
Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1978.47:1-33. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by Dartmouth College - Main Library on 01/24/15. For personal use only.
2
BARKER
adult. He worked for a time as a farm hand in the San Joaquin Valley and later taught in an elementary school for a few years, until he could save a little money. In 1892 he entered Stanford with the first class, but had to drop out before graduating, for lack of funds. He returned to the public schools as a high school teacher. Later he became principal of a high school and eventually a public school administrator in several cities, including Oakland and Palo Alto, where I grew up. My mother came to Stanford from Denver and obtained an A .B. degree in Classical Literature and an M.A. degree in Latin. She then taught lan guages in high school for a few years until she married. I had an older brother who was fond of literature and eventually became a professor of English. So there was nothing in my family background that predisposed me to a career in science with one possible exception. Both my father and mother were very fond of the outdoors and so each summer we spent a month or more, whenever possible, camping in the Sierras, and living a simple and quiet life in close contact with Nature. This resulted in my developing a considerable familiarity with plants and animals, and the physical environment, and perhaps even more important, developing a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in relatively solitary activities such as fishing, hiking, and exploring new areas; this attitude was easily carried over to scientific work in a laboratory. In high school I followed a rather standard college preparatory cur riculum including mathematics, chemistry, and two foreign languages. The scholastic standards were not very high, so I had no difficulty getting adequate grades with little effort. One of my dominant interests in the last two years of high school was music. I had taken piano lessons for several years previously with only minimal results. My enthusiasm for music was greatly stimulated at this time by contacts and a developing friendship with a fellow student, Robert Vetlesen, who had unusual talents as a pianist, and at the age of 14 was already giving concerts of professional quality. As a result, I began to work hard to develop the techniques of piano playing, only to conclude after several years that my abilities in that direction are very limited. Although frustrating, this experience was beneficial in opening up to me the world of music from which I have derived much pleasure. After graduating from high school I was fortunate to be able to speild a year (1924-1925) in Europe with my family. Most of the winter we stayed in Dresden, which at that time was a center of musical activity. I studied the piano, learned German, read classical German literature, and went to innumerable operas and concerts of every kind, usually occupying the cheapest seats. I remember that one of the highlights of the season was a musical festival honoring Richard Strauss on the occasion of his 60th birthday, during which he conducted several of his operas and ballets.
EXPLORATIONS OF BACTERIAL METABOLISM
3
Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1978.47:1-33. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by Dartmouth College - Main Library on 01/24/15. For personal use only.
INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE
I entered Stanford in 1925 with no idea which field I would ultimately choose as a major. Indeed, I inclined toward literary and historical subjects. Fortunately for me, much of the curriculum for the fi rst two years was fixed, and I was required to take a course in general biology. I found much of the material both novel and interesting, and I· recall that I was impressed by the enthusiasm and personalities of some of the instructors. So the following spring I decided to take a course in systematic botany from LeRoy Abrams. This turned out to be a good choice for me. The class was small and informal, and the work consisted mainly in collecting native plants in the adjacent fields and hills and learning to identify them by reference to Jepson's Manual ofFlowering Plants of California. I soon began to appreci ate the diversity of plants and the inful ence of environment on their distribu tion in nature. My knowledge in this area was later extended by taking a course in plant ecology and by accompanying a graduate student, Carl B. Wolf, on a seven-week field trip throughout the American southwest during which we collected over 5000 plants for the Stanford herbarium. As a result of these experiences I decided, near the end of my sophomore year, that I would like to become some type of biologist. Since I had almost no background in the physical sciences, this decision meant that I had to start my real scientifci education almost from the beginning. On examining the requirements for graduation in various fields, I found that I could obtain the physical sciences background I needed and fulfill the requirements for an A.B. degree most quickly by majoring in the School of Physical Sciences, which provided an introduction to mathematics, physics, chemistry, and geology. I studied all of these subjects with enthusiasm and graduated in the summer of 1929. On entering graduate school I still had no definite idea as to which area of biology I should enter. So I decided to sample introductory courses in several areas, including plant and animal physiology, protozoology, and psychology. I found the protozoology course given by C. V. Taylor to be particularly stimulating because the class was very small and informal. which allowed close personal contact with an enthusiastic teacher. Also, because the emphasis was on microscopy, micro-manipulation, and other techniques I was able to learn something about the behavior and physiology of protozoa. The following spring I moved to the Hopkins Marine Station on the M onterey Peninsula, with a small group of premedical students, to study invertebrate zoology and embryology. The instruction was excellent and the environment was enchanting, but the most important thing that happened to me was a conversation with a fellow graduate student, Robert E. Hungate. He told me that he had been getting some instruction in
Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1978.47:1-33. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by Dartmouth College - Main Library on 01/24/15. For personal use only.
4
BARKER
microbiology from a new member of the staff, a young Dutchman by the name of C. B. van Niel, whom he had found to be a superb teacher. On Hungate's advice I decided to ask van Niel to accept me as a student in the summer quarter. There was one complication. I had planned to start on a vacation in the Sierras somewhat before the end of the summer quarter. So I asked van Niel whether he could let m
Further
Quick links to online content Ann. Rev. Biochem. 1978. 47:1-33 Copyright © 1978 by Annual Reviews Inc. All rights reserved
Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1978.47:1-33. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by Dartmouth College - Main Library on 01/24/15. For personal use only.
EXPLORATIONS OF
+967
BACTERIAL METABOLISM H. A. Barker Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
CONTENTS EARLY YEARS
............................................................................................................
1
INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE ................................................................................
3
POSTDOCTORAL YEARS AT PACIFIC GROVE AND DELFT..........................
7
A SOIL MICROBIOLOGIST AT BERKELEy..........................................................
11
EARLY EXPERIMENTS WITH RADIOACTIVE CARBON ......... .. .... . ......
\3
.
.
..
.
..
...
SABBATICAL INTERLUDE ......................................................................................
15
SUCROSE PHOSPHORyLASE....................................................................................
16
RESEARCH ON DRIED FRUIT ................................................................................
18
CLOSTRIDIUM KLUYVERL' FATIY ACID METABOLISM AND AMINO ACID BIOSYNTHESIS ................................................................................
18
BIOCHEMISTRY OF METHANE FORMATION ....................................................
21
TRANSITION FROM MICROBIOLOGY TO BIOCHEMISTRy ..........................
22
THE BR FACTOR ........................................................................................................
23
PURINE DEGRADATION BY CLOSTRIDIA ........................................................
24
SABBATICAL AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ......................
25
GLUTAMATE FERMENTATION AND B\2 COENZYMES ..................................
26
LYSINE DEGRADATION BY CLOSTRIDIA AND RELATED PROBLEMS ....
29
FINAL COMMENTS ....................................................................................................
32
EARLY YEARS I grew up mostly in California, first in Oakland till the age of 11, and then in Palo Alto till I graduated from Stanford University. My parents had been
part of the western migration. My father as a young man came to California from Maine, where he had grown up on a poor farm in a rural environment that was attractive to a child, but held little promise of a good life for a n
0066-4154/78/0701-0001$01.00
Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1978.47:1-33. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by Dartmouth College - Main Library on 01/24/15. For personal use only.
2
BARKER
adult. He worked for a time as a farm hand in the San Joaquin Valley and later taught in an elementary school for a few years, until he could save a little money. In 1892 he entered Stanford with the first class, but had to drop out before graduating, for lack of funds. He returned to the public schools as a high school teacher. Later he became principal of a high school and eventually a public school administrator in several cities, including Oakland and Palo Alto, where I grew up. My mother came to Stanford from Denver and obtained an A .B. degree in Classical Literature and an M.A. degree in Latin. She then taught lan guages in high school for a few years until she married. I had an older brother who was fond of literature and eventually became a professor of English. So there was nothing in my family background that predisposed me to a career in science with one possible exception. Both my father and mother were very fond of the outdoors and so each summer we spent a month or more, whenever possible, camping in the Sierras, and living a simple and quiet life in close contact with Nature. This resulted in my developing a considerable familiarity with plants and animals, and the physical environment, and perhaps even more important, developing a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in relatively solitary activities such as fishing, hiking, and exploring new areas; this attitude was easily carried over to scientific work in a laboratory. In high school I followed a rather standard college preparatory cur riculum including mathematics, chemistry, and two foreign languages. The scholastic standards were not very high, so I had no difficulty getting adequate grades with little effort. One of my dominant interests in the last two years of high school was music. I had taken piano lessons for several years previously with only minimal results. My enthusiasm for music was greatly stimulated at this time by contacts and a developing friendship with a fellow student, Robert Vetlesen, who had unusual talents as a pianist, and at the age of 14 was already giving concerts of professional quality. As a result, I began to work hard to develop the techniques of piano playing, only to conclude after several years that my abilities in that direction are very limited. Although frustrating, this experience was beneficial in opening up to me the world of music from which I have derived much pleasure. After graduating from high school I was fortunate to be able to speild a year (1924-1925) in Europe with my family. Most of the winter we stayed in Dresden, which at that time was a center of musical activity. I studied the piano, learned German, read classical German literature, and went to innumerable operas and concerts of every kind, usually occupying the cheapest seats. I remember that one of the highlights of the season was a musical festival honoring Richard Strauss on the occasion of his 60th birthday, during which he conducted several of his operas and ballets.
EXPLORATIONS OF BACTERIAL METABOLISM
3
Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1978.47:1-33. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by Dartmouth College - Main Library on 01/24/15. For personal use only.
INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE
I entered Stanford in 1925 with no idea which field I would ultimately choose as a major. Indeed, I inclined toward literary and historical subjects. Fortunately for me, much of the curriculum for the fi rst two years was fixed, and I was required to take a course in general biology. I found much of the material both novel and interesting, and I· recall that I was impressed by the enthusiasm and personalities of some of the instructors. So the following spring I decided to take a course in systematic botany from LeRoy Abrams. This turned out to be a good choice for me. The class was small and informal, and the work consisted mainly in collecting native plants in the adjacent fields and hills and learning to identify them by reference to Jepson's Manual ofFlowering Plants of California. I soon began to appreci ate the diversity of plants and the inful ence of environment on their distribu tion in nature. My knowledge in this area was later extended by taking a course in plant ecology and by accompanying a graduate student, Carl B. Wolf, on a seven-week field trip throughout the American southwest during which we collected over 5000 plants for the Stanford herbarium. As a result of these experiences I decided, near the end of my sophomore year, that I would like to become some type of biologist. Since I had almost no background in the physical sciences, this decision meant that I had to start my real scientifci education almost from the beginning. On examining the requirements for graduation in various fields, I found that I could obtain the physical sciences background I needed and fulfill the requirements for an A.B. degree most quickly by majoring in the School of Physical Sciences, which provided an introduction to mathematics, physics, chemistry, and geology. I studied all of these subjects with enthusiasm and graduated in the summer of 1929. On entering graduate school I still had no definite idea as to which area of biology I should enter. So I decided to sample introductory courses in several areas, including plant and animal physiology, protozoology, and psychology. I found the protozoology course given by C. V. Taylor to be particularly stimulating because the class was very small and informal. which allowed close personal contact with an enthusiastic teacher. Also, because the emphasis was on microscopy, micro-manipulation, and other techniques I was able to learn something about the behavior and physiology of protozoa. The following spring I moved to the Hopkins Marine Station on the M onterey Peninsula, with a small group of premedical students, to study invertebrate zoology and embryology. The instruction was excellent and the environment was enchanting, but the most important thing that happened to me was a conversation with a fellow graduate student, Robert E. Hungate. He told me that he had been getting some instruction in
Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1978.47:1-33. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by Dartmouth College - Main Library on 01/24/15. For personal use only.
4
BARKER
microbiology from a new member of the staff, a young Dutchman by the name of C. B. van Niel, whom he had found to be a superb teacher. On Hungate's advice I decided to ask van Niel to accept me as a student in the summer quarter. There was one complication. I had planned to start on a vacation in the Sierras somewhat before the end of the summer quarter. So I asked van Niel whether he could let m
